Uche Cecil Izuora
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has begun implementing additional guidelines issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance for fiscal incentives under the Presidential Gas for Growth Initiative, granting import duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) exemptions on a range of gas-powered and environmentally friendly vehicles. The move builds on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s push to promote cleaner energy alternatives and expand adoption of sustainable transportation across Nigeria.
Under the approved framework, several vehicle and equipment categories now qualify for full exemption from import duty and VAT. These include Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles running on 100 per cent CNG, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vehicles running on 100 per cent LPG, pure electric vehicles, and Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs) with a minimum pure electric range of 200 kilometres. The exemptions also cover CNG and LPG conversion kits for existing petrol and diesel vehicles, tricycles and motorbikes certified for resale by the Ministry of Finance, and semi-trailers fitted with skid-mounted CNG, LPG or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage tanks used for gas distribution.
To access the incentives, importers are required to obtain an Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) from the Federal Ministry of Finance and comply with all other regulatory requirements governing the import of eligible items.
Not every category benefits from the waiver, however. The guidelines specify that certain vehicles and related items remain fully subject to import duty and VAT, including hybrid electric vehicles such as electric/petrol and electric/diesel variants, dual-fuel internal combustion engine vehicles configured for CNG/petrol or CNG/diesel use, luxury vehicles valued at $100,000 or more, CNG vehicles converted overseas without factory-fitted CNG systems, semi-trailers and flatbeds that are not self-driven or independently powered, and spare parts of any kind.
According to the NCS, the incentives are intended to support the federal government’s broader goals of lowering transportation and energy costs, encouraging investment in clean energy infrastructure, expanding adoption of alternative fuel technologies, and strengthening Nigeria’s energy security and environmental sustainability agenda.
National Public Relations Officer Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, speaking on behalf of Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the Service remains committed to implementing the incentives transparently and urged importers, licensed customs agents and other trade stakeholders to comply fully with the applicable guidelines.
The exemptions add to a broader set of duty waivers Customs has extended in recent years to support government intervention programmes, which the Service’s leadership has previously said should be judged by their wider economic impact, including industrial stimulation and reduced consumer costs, rather than by their effect on customs revenue alone.