Economy
Tinubu Vows to Implement 20 Fiscal, Tax Reform Recommendations
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has directed his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Mrs Hadiza Usman, to coordinate with the relevant government officials to work on the 20 recommendations provided by the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.
On Tuesday, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, the chairman of the committee, presented a score of reform recommendations to the President as part of efforts to help improve the nation’s revenue profile and business environment.
Mr Tinubu praised the team and assured them of his support for the review and implementation of key recommendations.
“I have listened attentively to your report. Charting the critical path forward for Nigeria’s economic recovery is crucial to all of us. I want to say thank you to your delegation,” Mr Tinubu said.
He then granted the request of the committee to address a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and apprise cabinet members of their work and expected outcomes to facilitate economic growth.
Recall that President Tinubu in August set up a committee to review the fiscal system and the tax administration in the country
Part of the recommendations offered by the committee include measures to address duplication of functions in public service, ensure prudent public finances and management, and optimise value from government assets and natural resources.
The panel also recommended policy signalling and collaboration by MDAs, economic management, and policy execution team, the use of technology “Data4Tax” to expand the tax net, increasing personal income tax exempt threshold and personal relief allowance, and provision of tax breaks for the private sector in respect of wage increases to low-income earners, transport subsidy and a net increase in employment.
Other recommendations include allowing the payment of taxes on foreign currency-denominated transactions in Naira for Nigerian businesses, removal of impediments to global employment opportunities for Nigerians based in Nigeria, suspension of Value Added Taxes (VAT) on diesel and tax waivers on CNG, CNG conversion, and renewable energy items, and comprehensive review of tariffs on the 43 items unbanned from accessing forex in the official market and fiscal policy review of other items prohibited for imports.
The committee also said the country should attempt reforms of Withholding Tax Regulations to ensure simplicity and ease the pressure on the working capital of businesses, facilitate the use of mobile phones for conditional cash transfers, and introduce a spending framework for subsidy removal and forex reform windfall, including a national portal to track spending by the federal government, states, and local governments.
It also recommended the suspension of multiple taxes which place burdens on the poor and small businesses and compensate with windfalls revenue of certain agencies, expanding the official foreign exchange market to incorporate bureau de change (BDCs), forex apps and retail FX dealers, outlawing transactions in the black market, and digitalization of Nigeria’s foreign exchange (FX) regime and discourage speculative demands and hoarding of FX in cash as well as the imposition of excise tax on foreign exchange transactions outside the official market.
The team also called on the Tinubu administration to implement forward contracts for the importation of PMS as a short-term measure pending improvement in key economic indices, discontinue the FX verification portal and requirement for Certificate of Capital Importation and export proceeds restriction, address impediments to export promotion and bottlenecks regarding Exports Expansion Grants, and remove restrictions on repatriation and use of export proceeds by exporters, modify Tax ProMax to allow taxpayers to make part payments of outstanding tax liabilities, and grant waiver of penalty and interests on the condition of full payment of outstanding tax liabilities on or before December 31, 2023.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
