The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, said that the federal government has decreased import duties on used vehicles from 15% to 5% and on brand-new vehicles from 20% to 10%. Adeniyi spoke before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise to defend the service's 2026 budget plan. According to the Customs DG, the revised automobile excise charges are part of the fiscal policy initiatives for 2026. He stated that, while the new strategy is projected to increase income generation, the drop in car tariffs may harm collections.
Adeniyi stated, "We have the new excise duty, which is included in the 2026 fiscal policy. These actions will increase our revenue collection. Alex Mascot, an Abia politician, questioned whether the cut would be sufficient to prevent importers from moving cargo through neighboring countries. Responding, Adeniyi stated that policy implementation began in May. The committee's chairman, Leke Abejide, welcomed the tariff review as a relief for Nigerians.
The Comptroller-General stated that the service produced N7.258 trillion between January and December 2025, exceeding its permitted revenue objective. According to him, the achievement reflected a positive variation of N1.153 trillion (18.89 percent) above the set annual target.
He stated that the performance was attained despite several factors that limited revenue generation, such as the suspension of the excise tax on telecommunications services, the ongoing suspension of the proposed green tax that was introduced in 2023, and government fiscal policies that encouraged local production of healthcare products, which decreased import duty and VAT collections on medical imports.
Along with the large number of imports covered by import duty exemption certificates, IDEC, VAT orders, and schedule II of the common external tariff, CET, he also mentioned the president's initiative on compressed natural gas, CNG, and electric vehicles, which decreased import income.
According to Adeniyi, imports totaling N34.538 trillion were eligible for revenue concessions in 2025. Of these, 56.40 percent were petroleum items, 40.52 percent were military imports, and 3.08 percent were IDEC and other items.
The head of customs stated that imports, especially wheat shipments from the region, were also impacted by the interruptions to international trade caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Adeniyi informed lawmakers that the NCS's fiscal year 2026 revenue goal is N11.074 trillion.
According to him, the target includes N5.542 trillion for the federation, N1.491 trillion for non-federation revenue, N2.773 trillion from import VAT, and N1.266 trillion from free-on-board (FOB) receipts. He stated that the service would use many tactics to meet the goal, including the complete deployment of the unified customs information system (UCIS), also referred to as B'Odogwu, to enhance revenue collection and automate customs procedures.
According to him, additional steps include expanding the authorized economic operator (AEO) and advance rulings programs to facilitate trade, strengthening post-clearance audits and real-time systems audits to improve compliance, using geospatial technology and joint border patrols to combat smuggling, and improving stakeholder collaboration.
Adeniyi added that despite uncertainty in international trade brought on by tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran, the new excise tariff regime under the 2026 fiscal policy, the planned reintroduction of the green tax, and other fiscal measures are anticipated to support revenue generation.
Adeniyi suggested a spending budget of N1.235 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year, which would be financed by N230.04 billion for ongoing capital projects, N55.47 billion from its two percent VAT share, and N949.86 billion from the four percent FOB allocation.
The projected expenditure, according to Adeniyi, would include N565.93 billion for capital projects, N307.77 billion for overhead, and N421.70 billion for human costs.
