President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the waiver of import duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) for critical medical equipment and supplies.
The Presidency revealed this in a series of tweets on Thursday, saying the waiver was for a period of six months in the first instance.
It explained that the President’s action was part of measures put in place by the Nigerian government to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its economy.
According to the Presidency, the waivers which are the latest of the fiscal policies also aim to boost the health infrastructure in the country.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has directed the Nigeria Customs Service to ensure critical medical equipment and supplies were given expedited clearance at all times.
He stressed that this should be done in line with the standard operating procedures for the clearance of humanitarian and relief materials.
The Presidency noted that the measures to facilitate the importation of some COVID-19 essential medical supplies were in line with the indicative list recommended by the World Customs Organisation and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It added that the list was reviewed by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, as well as the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
Read the tweets below:
These waivers are the latest of the fiscal policies measures introduced by @NigeriaGov to combat the economic implications of the #COVID19 pandemic, and to support the strengthening of health infrastructure in Nigeria.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) May 7, 2020
These measures to facilitate the importation of some COVID-19 essential medical supplies are in line with the indicative list recommended by the World Customs Organisation @WCO_OMD in conjunction with the World Health Organisation @WHO.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) May 7, 2020
“Those items for which Nigeria has adequate local capacity to produce, such as textile face masks, undenatured ethyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide (medical and disinfectant), hand sanitizers and syringes, with or without needles, have been removed from the list.” — @ZShamsuna
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) May 7, 2020
