The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has started enforcing the zero percent import tariff and exemption of value-added tax (VAT) on basic food items, which is a key step toward addressing the rising cost of food in Nigeria. This plan, endorsed by President Bola Tinubu, aims to reduce inflationary pressures and ensure food security throughout the country.<\/p>\n
A circular from the NCS, seen by Abuja City Journal<\/em> on Wednesday, revealed that the Ministry of Finance had formally notified the agency of the presidential approval. According to the document, the duty waiver and VAT exemption took effect from July 15 and will remain in force until December 31, 2024.<\/p>\n The federal government had initially announced the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of essential food staples on July 10. This decision applies to imports through both land and sea borders and is part of broader efforts to curb inflation and make food more affordable for the average Nigerian.<\/p>\n On August 7, the NCS confirmed that the duty waiver on imported food items would be fully implemented within a week. The circular, signed by C.K. Niagwan, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, outlined that the exempted food commodities include maize, husked brown rice, wheat, grain beans, and millet.<\/p>\n Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance, emphasized in his letter that the measure is specifically designed to alleviate the high cost of food items in the Nigerian market. However, he also noted that this relief would be limited to addressing the national supply gap, which will be determined by a committee set up by the Minister.<\/p>\n The implementation of this policy is expected to have a positive impact on the availability and affordability of staple foods, particularly in a time when many Nigerians are grappling with the economic challenges of high inflation. By reducing the cost burden on importers, the government hopes that these savings will be passed on to consumers, resulting in lower prices at markets and stores across the country.<\/p>\n The NCS has been tasked with ensuring the smooth execution of this policy, working closely with importers and other stakeholders to facilitate the entry of these food items into the Nigerian market without the usual financial barriers. This step is seen as part of a broader strategy by the Tinubu administration to stabilize the economy and protect vulnerable populations from the adverse effects of rising prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has started enforcing the zero percent import tariff and exemption of value-added tax (VAT) on basic food items, which is a key step toward addressing the rising cost of food in Nigeria. This plan, endorsed by President Bola Tinubu, aims to reduce inflationary pressures and ensure food security throughout the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-43475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43476,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43475\/revisions\/43476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}