The Federal Government has reduced vehicle import levies to lower prices, while also flagging off the newly introduced Green Tax, to combat the country’s pervasive cost-of-living crisis, which has elevated the country’s poverty level. 

An update by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Wednesday noted that the Green Tax Surcharge implementation would begin on July 1, 2026, as part of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measure to support environmental sustainability, while also reducing the import levy on new vehicles from 20 per cent to 10 per cent and that of used vehicles from 15 per cent to five per cent to ease the cost of vehicle importation.

The implementation commenced under the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures, approved by the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.

Further analysis showed that transportation and industrial sectors are also in focus.

The duty on passenger vehicles has been slashed from 70 per cent to 40 per cent, a move that could lower the cost of car ownership.

More significantly, the government has fully exempted mass transit buses and electric vehicles (EVs) from import duties, a green tax measure aimed at reducing transport costs and encouraging cleaner energy.

A close examination of the policy means that it could have an immediate impact on transport operators, who depend heavily on imported buses, trucks, minibuses, and light commercial vehicles for interstate haulage and urban transport services.

Today, transport costs account for a significant portion of food prices in Nigerian markets, particularly for staple crops such as sorghum, millet, maize, yams, and cassava transported from rural production centres in the north to urban consumption hubs in the south.

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Import duties have also been significantly slashed for essential items, with rice duties dropping from 70 per cent to 47.5 per cent and crude palm oil to 28.75 per cent.

The duty on bulk rice is almost halved, from a punishing 70 per cent to 47.5 per cent, while broken rice sees an even steeper reduction to 30 per cent.

Raw cane sugar duties have been compressed to between 55 per cent and 57.5 per cent, and crude palm oil now enters at a rate of 28.75 per cent, down from 35 per cent. These cuts are designed to reduce input costs for everything from a family’s daily meals to commercial food production.

Crude palm oil now enters at a rate of 28.75 per cent, down from 35 per cent. These cuts are designed to reduce input costs for everything from a family’s daily meals to commercial food production.

Under the measures, import duties on agricultural and manufacturing machinery have been completely removed, while Waste PET has been added to the export prohibition list to prioritise the domestic recycling industry.

The development represents one of the most significant overhauls of the nation’s tariff regime in recent years.

The policy slashes duties on a wide range of items central to household consumption and industrial activity, targeting a staggering 127 tariff lines with reduced rates.