Manufacturers Laud Suspension Of 4% Free On Board Import Fee

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended the federal government and the Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, over the recent suspension of the reintroduced four per cent Free-on-Board charge on imports, which came into effect on August 4, 2025.

MAN’s director-general, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said, ” This move comes as a relief to our members and the broader manufacturing sector, which has been anxiously concerned about the imposition of the charge.”

He noted that the association was confident that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in keeping with its ongoing commendable reforms, would swiftly communicate the directive to all relevant commands, so that the charge would go off its portal, while they would  earnestly await the complete restoration of the B’Odogwu platform.

According to Ajayi-Kadir, it has brought instant succour and encouragement to the Nigerian manufacturing community and is great news for the business community.

“The minister just saved our country from a self-inflicted price escalation that could have unsettled the widely acknowledged stability and repurposing this administration has achieved. Though it was meant to boost the much-needed government revenue, the charge is akin to an ‘own goal’ in a football match.”

He added that the reintroduction of the charge was quite concerning for us. We were genuinely apprehensive that it would lead to a significant escalation in the cost of raw materials, machinery, and spare parts that are not available locally and, therefore, have to be imported.

The MAN DG disclosed that “We had outlined the basis for our objection to the charge, after a technical assessment and extensive consultation with our more than 2,500 members, who operate in 10 sectors and more than 60 sub-sectors across the country.

“It became evident that the cost implication of the four per cent FOB charge was significantly higher than the combined effect of the subsisting seven per cent surcharge and one per cent CISS, thereby impacting heavily on the cost of our inputs; the higher cost will be passed on to consumers and this will fuel inflation, which already stands at 21.88 per cent as at July 2025, and undermine the prevailing struggle with high inflation; the comparable prevailing rates within the West African subregion range between 0.5 per cent to one per cent and so maintaining a four per cent FOB would directly skyrocket the cost of doing business, incentivize informal cross border sourcing, cargo diversion and encourage underdeclaration.”

Ajayi-Kadir pointed out that “we were convinced that a reversal was necessary to boost the government’s efforts at reducing the costs of local production, deepening domestic value chain addition, and economic diversification.

He added that the government should review the outcomes of the above-listed measures and ensure their alignment with the spirit and letters of the recently introduced Tax Laws so that they are mutually reinforcing and not at variance.

He urged the federal government to continue implementing policies that promote industrialisation, reduce the cost of doing business, and encourage domestic production by eliminating various binding constraints that hamper manufacturing growth and economic development.