The Nigeria Customs Service has begun implementing the Federal Government’s 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, which reduce import levies on vehicles and introduce a new Green Tax Surcharge effective July 1, 2026.
According to the Customs, the policy approved by the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele is intended to ease the cost of living while promoting environmental sustainability.
Key changes
Import levy on new vehicles reduced from 20% to 10%.
Import levy on used vehicles reduced from 15% to 5%.
Import duty on fully built passenger vehicles cut from 70% to 40%.
Mass transit buses exempted from import duty.
Electric vehicles (EVs) exempted from import duty.
Food and industrial imports
The policy also lowers duties on several essential goods:
Rice: 70% → 47.5%
Broken rice: 30%
Crude palm oil: 35% → 28.75%
Raw cane sugar: 55%–57.5%
In addition, import duties on agricultural and manufacturing machinery have been removed entirely to support production.
Recycling measure
To encourage local recycling, Waste PET has been added to Nigeria’s export prohibition list, ensuring the material is retained for domestic processing.
The government says the reforms affect 127 tariff lines and are aimed at reducing transport costs, lowering food prices, supporting manufacturing, and making vehicle ownership more affordable while encouraging cleaner energy through incentives for electric vehicles.
