It said the exemption will be granted to companies that have maintained no outstanding tax liabilities or statutory payroll obligations over the past five years.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has listed guidelines that companies must meet to benefit from the Zero Percent Duty Rate (0%) and Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on selected basic food items, approved by President Bola Tinubu.
It said the exemption will be granted to companies that have maintained no outstanding tax liabilities or statutory payroll obligations over the past five years.
NCS said to qualify for the exemption, companies must also be incorporated in Nigeria and have been operational for a minimum of five years.
According to Customs spokesman Abdullahi Maiwada, the policy is aimed at easing the burden of high food prices on Nigerians.
The approval was conveyed through the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun.
Effective from July 15, 2024, to December 31, 2024, the policy seeks to provide relief to Nigerians struggling with the cost of essential food items.
“However, it is important to emphasise that while this temporary measure is intended to address current hardships, it does not undermine the long-term strategies put in place to safeguard local farmers and protect manufacturers,” the Customs spokesman noted.
According to him, the implementation of the policy would focus on addressing the national supply gap.
“To participate in the zero-duty importation of basic food items, a company must be incorporated in Nigeria and have been operational for at least five years. It must have filed annual returns and financial statements and paid taxes and statutory payroll obligations for the past five years.
“Companies importing husked brown rice, grain sorghum, or millet need to own a milling plant with a capacity of at least 100 tons per day, operated for at least four years, and have enough farmland for cultivation.
“Those importing maize, wheat, or beans must be agricultural companies with sufficient farmland or feed mills/agro-processing companies with an out-grower network for cultivation,” he said.
He listed the basic food items eligible for the zero percent duty rate as: husked brown rice, grain sorghum, millet, maize, wheat, and beans.
“The Federal Ministry of Finance will periodically provide the NCS with a list of importers and their approved quotas to facilitate the importation of these basic food items within the framework of this policy.
“The policy requires that at least 75% of imported items be sold through recognised commodities exchanges, with all transactions and storage recorded. Companies must keep comprehensive records of all related activities, which the government can request for compliance verification.
“If a company fails to meet its obligations under the import authorisation, it will lose all waivers and must pay the applicable VAT, levies, and import duties. This penalty also applies if the company exports the imported items in their original or processed form outside Nigeria,” he said.
Despite President Tinubu's June announcement suspending import duties and tariffs on essential food items for six months, Nigerian importers told SaharaReporters earlier in August that they were still being forced to pay these fees.
Chairman of the Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) in Nigeria's Northern region, Aminu Dan-Iya said, "Customs officials tell our members at entry points that they don't have any written communication about the suspension.
"Therefore, nothing has changed, we're paying duties as usual.”
"As matter of fact, people are outraged, asking to know why prices of food and other commodities keep skyrocketing despite removal of taxes. The truth is that something is fundamentally wrong somewhere because we cannot fathom why such a crucial presidential order is yet to be implemented," he added.
Dan-Iya expressed optimism that the short-term tax suspension policy would help mitigate inflationary pressures and lead to a decrease in the prices of grains and related items, bringing relief to consumers.