By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generated ₦7.28 trillion in revenue in 2025, surpassing its annual target of ₦6.58 trillion by 10.24 per cent, despite extensive tax waivers, import duty exemptions and fiscal incentives introduced by the Federal Government to stimulate economic growth.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Monday while defending the agency’s 2025 budget performance and presenting its 2026 budget proposal before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise.
Adeniyi said the Service exceeded its revenue target by ₦696 billion, attributing the performance to ongoing reforms in revenue administration, improved technology deployment and enhanced trade facilitation initiatives.
He clarified that the executive summary of the budget document submitted to lawmakers contained an error, noting that the correct revenue realised between January and December 2025 was ₦7.28 trillion.
According to him, the achievement came despite significant revenue losses arising from government policies designed to support key sectors of the economy.
The Customs boss explained that the continued suspension of excise duty on telecommunications services, tax concessions for pharmaceutical products, healthcare-related waivers and duty exemptions granted under the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative all impacted Customs revenue during the year.
He added that the proposed Green Tax had yet to be implemented, while exemptions covering CNG-powered and electric vehicles further reduced potential earnings.
Adeniyi disclosed that Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs) accounted for the largest revenue shortfall, revealing that imports valued at approximately ₦34.53 trillion benefited from various waivers and concessions in 2025.
He said the exempted imports included military equipment, petroleum products and other strategic items approved under government intervention programmes.
According to him, 56.40 per cent of the exempted imports comprised petroleum products, while 40.52 per cent were military imports.
The Comptroller-General also noted that the limited number of products currently subject to excise duty constrained revenue generation, while geopolitical tensions in the Middle East disrupted global supply chains in the last quarter of 2025, affecting imports of strategic commodities, particularly wheat.
On expenditure, Adeniyi disclosed that although the Service received an approved budget of ₦1.13 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year, only ₦808.86 billion was available for implementation.
He attributed the funding gap to the transition from the previous seven per cent Cost of Collection funding model to the four per cent Free-on-Board (FOB) Cost of Collection arrangement introduced under the Nigeria Customs Service Act.
According to him, Customs operated under the old funding structure until August 2025 before fully implementing the new funding mechanism.
He commended the National Assembly for supporting the transition, describing the lawmakers’ backing as critical to the successful implementation of the new framework.
The available funds, he said, were utilised for personnel costs, overheads, capital projects and concessionaire obligations.
Responding to questions from lawmakers over discrepancies between the approved budget, actual funds received and expenditure, Adeniyi explained that while the budget was prepared based on projected funding under the new four per cent FOB arrangement, implementation reflected the delayed transition from the previous model.
He further disclosed that reforms implemented in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) had strengthened post-clearance audit operations, enabling the Service to recover additional revenue through real-time system audits.
The Customs boss added that the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme and the Advance Ruling Programme were now fully operational and expected to improve compliance while facilitating legitimate trade.
Looking ahead, Adeniyi said new excise measures proposed for 2026 could boost revenue collections, although recently approved tariff reductions on imported vehicles may moderate revenue growth.
He disclosed that import duty on used vehicles had been reduced from 15 per cent to five per cent, while the duty on brand-new vehicles was cut from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.
For the 2026 fiscal year, the Nigeria Customs Service proposed a budget of ₦421.70 billion for personnel costs, ₦307.77 billion for overheads and ₦565.93 billion for capital expenditure, with investments targeted at infrastructure development, ICT expansion, operational equipment and the completion of ongoing projects.
