Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a Nigerian Policy and Knowledge Institution, has raised concerns over the Federal Government’s decision to waive N34 trillion in Customs duties in the 2025 fiscal year, an amount that exceeds the N28.23 trillion the government actually collected in consolidated revenue during the same period.
In the statement signed by its Lead Director, Eze Onyekpere, the CSJ said the disclosure was made by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) while briefing the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.
According to the statement, the NCS clarified that it does not approve waivers but merely implements them on the authority of the Minister of Finance, in line with existing laws.
The House Committee on Finance has since asked for a detailed breakdown of the beneficiaries of the waivers, along with their legal basis and purpose.
The CSJ noted that the N28.23 trillion collected fell short of the government’s N36.35 trillion revenue target for the year, and argued that the scale of the waiver, larger than actual revenue retained, raises serious questions about fiscal discipline, especially given Nigeria’s rising budget deficit and continued borrowing.
The organisation also pointed out that customs duty waivers are only one component of broader tax expenditures, which include tax holidays and exemptions granted to companies, particularly to attract foreign investment. It said a full account of all tax expenditures for 2025 would likely be significantly higher than the N34 trillion customs figure alone.
Citing Section 29 (1) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the CSJ said any proposed tax expenditure must be accompanied by an evaluation of its budgetary and financial implications for the year it takes effect and the three years following, and can only be approved by the Minister of Finance if does not adversely affect revenue estimates in the annual budget, or if it is paired with countervailing measures, such as raising tax rates or expanding the tax base.
The CSJ said the 2025 waiver did not appear to follow this process, asking whether any budgetary impact evaluation was conducted, whether the waiver was submitted to the National Assembly for approval, and where documentation of any countervailing revenue measures could be found.
The group further referenced the Nigerian Tax Policy of 2017, which stipulates that revenue forgone through tax incentives should be quantified against expected benefits and reported annually, with qualitative assessments required where quantification is not possible. The CSJ said no such annual reports appear to exist despite years of tax waiver being granted.
Describing the current tax expenditure regime as “mismanaged and abused,” the CSJ called on the National Assembly to amend relevant laws to cap total tax expenditure at no more than 10% of the actual revenue recorded in the preceding financial year. It also recommended that any proposed tax expenditures be submitted alongside the Appropriation Bill as a schedule requiring National Assembly approval as part of the budget process.
The CSJ urged the National Assembly to use its oversight powers to ensure strict enforcement of existing provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
