Adeniyi urges lawmakers to reassess tax concessions, strengthen Customs law and focus oversight on digital reforms rather than cargo inspections….
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has called on the National Assembly to undertake a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s import waiver and concession framework, arguing that lawmakers should determine whether the incentives continue to deliver the economic benefits for which they were introduced.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, said the review should also extend to the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, noting that three years of implementation have revealed areas of the law that may require amendment to keep pace with the changing dynamics of global trade.
Adeniyi made the call on Wednesday while addressing participants at a two-day retreat organised for the Senate Committee on Customs in Abuja. The retreat focused on legislative oversight and the ongoing modernisation of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Speaking at the event, the Customs boss urged lawmakers to broaden their oversight responsibilities by concentrating less on individual cargo transactions and more on the effectiveness of the digital systems driving customs operations.
According to him, Parliament should pay greater attention to automated risk management systems, cargo clearance timelines, customs valuation databases and the overall impact of tax exemption policies instead of isolated operational decisions.
Adeniyi said the volume of goods entering Nigeria under government-approved waivers has become substantial, making it necessary for lawmakers to determine whether the concessions still align with the country’s economic priorities.
“A substantial volume of trade enters this country under waivers and concessions granted for policy reasons. Whether those concessions still serve the purposes for which they were created is a legislative question rather than a Customs one, and we would welcome your attention to it,” he said.
His latest remarks come weeks after he disclosed that import duty exemptions approved by the Federal Government had risen sharply in recent years.
During an investigative hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance last month, Adeniyi revealed that approvals issued under the Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) scheme reached N34 trillion in 2025, with roughly 60 per cent covering duty-free imports of military equipment due to the country’s security challenges.
Beyond the waiver regime, the Comptroller-General appealed to lawmakers to carry out a post-implementation assessment of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, describing the legislation as the legal foundation for the agency’s ongoing reforms.
He explained that after three years of implementation, the law has generated enough practical experience to identify provisions that are working effectively and those that may require refinement.
“The Act has now been in operation for three years. There is now evidence of which provisions have worked as intended, which have proved harder to apply than the drafting anticipated, and which the pace of trade has already begun to overtake,” Adeniyi said.
He urged members of the Senate Committee to use the retreat as an opportunity to evaluate not only the Service’s performance but also whether the existing legal framework remains adequate for the evolving demands of customs administration.
Adeniyi maintained that the future of Customs lies in technology-driven operations that minimise human discretion and replace manual decision-making with transparent, automated systems.
He described the deployment of the indigenous B’Odogwu customs platform and the Trade Modernisation Project as reforms designed to eliminate paper-based processes, improve accountability and ensure consistent decisions regardless of the officer handling a transaction.
According to him, every manual intervention in cargo processing creates room for inconsistency, while digital systems provide greater transparency because every action leaves an electronic trail that can be tracked and audited.
Despite highlighting the agency’s strong financial performance, Adeniyi warned against using revenue growth alone as the benchmark for measuring Customs’ success.
He disclosed that the Service generated N7.277 trillion in 2025, surpassing its annual revenue target by 10.24 per cent, while collections between January and May 2026 had already reached N3.35 trillion.
However, he argued that revenue increases driven largely by exchange rate movements could present a misleading picture if not supported by genuine institutional improvements.
“Revenue growth in a period of currency adjustment can flatter an administration that has done very little. What matters is whether the growth rests on better systems or on favourable arithmetic,” he said.
The Customs chief also appealed for sustained legislative backing, warning that reforms driven by automation often face resistance because they reduce discretionary powers that some interests seek to preserve.
According to him, political and legislative support remains essential if the Service is to sustain its modernisation agenda and resist attempts to undermine ongoing reforms.
He also challenged lawmakers to evaluate Customs based on measurable outcomes such as cargo release times and trade facilitation rather than the volume of administrative activities undertaken.
Earlier, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Jibrin Isah, praised the Nigeria Customs Service for exceeding its 2025 revenue target, describing the achievement as evidence that the agency’s reform agenda is delivering measurable results.
He noted that Customs generated approximately N7.3 trillion against an approved target of N6.5 trillion, while also recording improvements in trade facilitation and anti-smuggling operations.
Isah assured the Service of the National Assembly’s continued support in addressing legal and policy challenges affecting its operations.
He encouraged Customs to identify areas requiring legislative intervention, promising that the Senate would provide the necessary backing to strengthen the agency’s reform efforts.
The senator also congratulated Adeniyi on his re-election as Chairman of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council, describing the development as recognition of Nigeria’s growing influence in global customs administration.
The Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 replaced decades-old customs legislation and introduced sweeping reforms, including legal backing for electronic cargo processing, advance rulings, the Authorised Economic Operator programme and a new funding framework for the Service.
Since the law came into effect, Customs has accelerated its digital transformation through the rollout of the B’Odogwu platform and the Trade Modernisation Project, both aimed at reducing cargo clearance time, strengthening risk management, improving transparency and boosting revenue collection.
With its latest appeal, the Service is seeking Parliament’s support to determine whether both the current legal framework and Nigeria’s longstanding import waiver regime remain fit for purpose in an increasingly digital and competitive global trading environment.
