The Nigeria Customs Service has disclosed that approvals under the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme reached N34 trillion in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent of the duty waivers granted for the importation of military hardware.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, made the disclosure on Monday while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance during an investigative session with revenue-generating agencies, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Adeniyi said government policies have, at different times, both supported and limited the Service’s ability to generate revenue.

The figures underscore the substantial amount of revenue forgone through duty exemptions, as the Customs Service grapples with a shortfall in meeting its 2026 revenue target.

He noted that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, has remained one of the most significant policy measures influencing Customs’ revenue performance over the past few years.

“IDEC approvals reached about N34 trillion in 2025, with about 60 per cent granted for military hardware procurement due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges,” he said.

He added that other government-backed duty waivers covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas vehicles, electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as goods brought in under food import intervention programmes.

Adeniyi called on the government to strengthen its monitoring framework to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended objectives, including reducing prices, boosting local production and improving access to healthcare services.

“Fiscal policy should not be assessed solely from the perspective of revenue generation but also by its broader economic and social impact,” he said.

He also disclosed that the Nigeria Customs Service had generated N4.5 trillion as of June 30, 2026, out of its N11.04 trillion revenue target for the year, leaving about N7 trillion to be collected in the second half to meet its annual goal.

The session also addressed an unresolved financial dispute between the Nigeria Customs Service and the Fiscal Responsibility Commission over the alleged non-remittance of operating surplus to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.