ECONOMIC INSIGHT FG to automate import duty waiver in Q1 2020

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab S. Ahmed has said the automation of Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) will be launched first quarter 2020.

The minister who disclosed this in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting on IDEC, observed that the continued incidences of revenue losses due to manual processing of applications, incidences of multiple use of IDEC approvals, among others have remained major constraints in monitoring the process of granting waivers and certificates.

“In order to address these challenges, the ministry has keyed into the economic growth and development reform initiatives. To support these initiatives, we embarked on reforming the IDEC programme. This involved re-engineering the process from application to issuance and validation by the Nigeria Customs

Service (NCS) powered by digital technology,” she explained.

“I consider this stakeholders’ meeting very apt and timely as we plan to launch this laudable project in the first quarter of 2020. You will recall that at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on 11th December 2019, Council unanimously endorsed and approved the IDEC Project,”she said.

Also commenting, Dr. Mohammed K. Dikwa, the Permanent Secretary, Finance said, “Note that from 2011 -2015, which is a 4-year period, government conceded about N1.024 trillion through grants of only four types of waivers,” he noted.

He also said the Ministry on an annual basis receives upwards of 600,000 different requests ranging from import duty waivers on imports from different government agencies, private sector, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)’s through its Fiscal Policy measure of granting waivers.

According to him, despite these huge figures, it is still not clear what benefits have accrued to overnment in return in terms of jobs created, additional tax revenues paid by beneficiaries and other impact to the economy.