By By Habeeb Ibrahim
President Bola Tinubu is considering a six-month suspension of import duties on staple food items, pharmaceutical products, and other essential goods, according to a document seen by BlackBox Nigeria.
This move aims to combat inflation and stabilize prices in the country. Nigeria’s food inflation has reached a staggering 40%, the highest in nearly three decades.
However, Bloomberg reports that President Tinubu is yet to sign the document believed to be an executive order and its implementation is pending his approval.
Under the order, import tariffs on essential food items, raw materials, agriculture inputs and pharmaceutical products will be suspended for six months.
Import duty and valued added tax (VAT) on paddy rice will be waived for millers for the same duration.
Furthermore, VAT will also been suspended on basic food items, electricity, public transportation, and pharmaceutical products.
The document read: “In exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Section 38 of the Value Added Tax Act, Cap, V1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended), and all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria make the following Order -”
1. As from the commencement of this Order, the following measures and reliefs shall apply:
2. The import duty and other tariffs on the following items are hereby suspended for a period of six months:
(a) staple food items;
(b) raw materials and other direct inputs used for manufacturing:
(c) inputs for agriculture production including fertilisers, seedlings, and chemicals
(d) pharmaceutical products
(e) poultry feeds, flour and grains
3. Authorise millers to import paddy rice at zero duty and Value Added Tax for a period of 6 months in the first instance in order to improve local supply and capacity utilisation of rice millers.
4. Value Added Tax, where applicable, is hereby suspended on the following items for the rest of the Importation of rice year 2024:
(a) basic food items and semi-processed staple food items such as noodles and pasta;
(b) raw material inputs for the manufacturing of food items, electricity and public transportation;
(c) agricultural inputs and produce, and
(d) pharmaceutical products.
