Bukola Saraki, former senate president has expressed concerns over the 4% free-on-board (FOB) levy introduced by Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)•
NCS had on February 5, said it would implement a 4% charge on the FOB value of imports, inline with the provisions of Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCSA) 2023.
Saraki in a post on his official X account on Saturday, questioned the justification for the levy and warned that it would place undue burden on businesses and consumers.
He wrote, “With our annual imports estimated at N71 trillion, the new 4% customs administration charge on Free On Board (FOB) value will come to N2.84 trillion. Does this mean that the Customs Service requires an additional N2.84 trillion annually to do its job?”
“Don’t forget they already have a budget and get an incentive percentage on total customs duties collected.”
Saraki also criticised NCS’ rising operational costs, noting that it now seeks to “spend over $1.5 billion annually” despite the economic struggles of the country and high poverty rate.
He said, “Importers will inevitably pass these costs on to consumers, further straining the budgets of millions of struggling households.”
“This new fee of 4% is not even restricted to luxury goods but across all imports, so even for industries that import their raw materials whose duties are only 5%, the customs agency will now charge importers an extra 80% of the duty amount as administrative fees.”
“How can this make sense or support the government’s policy of promoting the ease of doing business?”
The former senate president urged federal government to urgently reconsider and suspend the policy, warning that its implementation would hurt Nigerians more.
