The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has stated that the Service will use only the exchange rate on the official Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) window for clearing of imported goods and would not engage in arbitrary increase or decrease in exchange rate.
According to Adeniyi, the policy of merging the multiple exchange rate windows has repercussions on the operations of the NCS.
He also mentioned that Nigeria Customs Service does not independently fix its exchange rate for goods clearance but only updates its system based on what is on the CBN’s official window.
According to a post on X by President Bola Tinubu’s special assistant on social media, Olusegun Dada, he quoted CG Adeniyi as saying that; “It is not about Customs increasing the rates. We have nothing to do with whether the rates go up or come down. We follow what is prescribed for us by the regulatory authority for monetary affairs which is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
Speaking further, the CG mentioned that the Customs Service would adhere to the fiscal policies of the Tinubu administration concerning import and export duties.
Specifically, he mentioned the removal of 7.5% VAT on LPG equipment imports and the removal of VAT on steel and electric vehicle imports into the country.
The Comptroller General also noted that the duties of the Customs Service were beyond revenue generation but trade facilitation and the NCS has hopes to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) to improve trade trade between African countries which coincidentally leads to more revenue generation.
Adeniyi added that the Customs Service has increased its revenues by 37% since he assumed office and has set a target of N5.1 trillion in revenues for 2024 fiscal year.
