The House of Representatives has directed the Nigeria Customs Service to stop collecting the Comprehensive Import Suspension Scheme levy effective June 30, 2025.

The directive was issued by the Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise, Hon. Leke Abejide, during a budget session in Abuja reviewing the 2024 N6.11 trillion performance and defending the proposed N6.58 trillion 2025 budget.

The lawmaker revealed that the House Committee on Customs and Excise will hold a joint session with its Senate counterpart and the Minister of Finance and Economy, Wale Edun, on Wednesday.

Speaking on behalf of the committee, Hon. Leke Abejide demanded an explanation for the Nigeria Customs Service’s failure to fully fund its personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures, despite exceeding its total revenue target for 2024.

He said, “This committee is not unaware that CISS is not backed by any law in Nigeria. It is not in the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, and even your seven per cent cost of collection is equally illegal, as it is not in the LFN.

“Another shocking revelation is that from January to December 2024, 60 per cent of the one per cent comprehensive import suspension scheme, which was part of the revenue source to fund your overhead, personnel cost, and capital projects, recorded zero revenue.

“Also, payment was made to Web Fountaine Limited, which provided network and automation to NCS, but about 80 per cent of these operations and work schedules have been taken over by the Nigeria Customs Service. Why are you not getting your share of 60 per cent of the one per cent CISS?

“The only legal source of income back by the Act of Parliament as signed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into Law and gazetted in LFN is the four per cent Free-On Board which can be found in section 18(1a) of Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 (Federal Republic of Nigeria official Gazette No. 105 Lagos -9th June, 2023 Vol.110).”

Tensions rose when Rivers lawmaker, Awaji-Iniombek Abiante, questioned the legality of the one per cent levy collected by the Nigeria Customs Service under the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme. He argued that the CISS “is not an Act of Parliament, but a legacy from the military era—and this is a democratic dispensation.”

He asked, “I want to find out why you are still operating the illegal one per cent. It is not contained in any Act of this parliament, nor was it a carryover of any decree that would have been part of the laws of the Federation of Nigeria. Can you help us explain why you should continue to implement that illegal scheme?”

In response, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, said, “We expected this issue to have started last year, but unfortunately it was suspended. We feel we have to go back and ensure we sensitise our stakeholders.”

When asked if the Nigeria Customs Service had conducted sensitisation efforts among relevant stakeholders, he responded, “We are on it. In this case, the CISS, as was discussed last year, we did not receive anything on the one per cent.”

Interjecting, Abejide said, “Do we sit here and allow it to continue? Are you convinced? By the end of this month, June 2025, you must not collect CISS again. You are to collect your four per cent FOB as signed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“This is not a joke. We will challenge you in the court of law. We are not joking. We are representatives of the people. This is a democratic dispensation. Any attempt to try to collect the CISS on July 1 will face the wrath of the law. Go back to what the President used to do in section 18(1a). This is the House of the people.”