The federal government has unveiled a plan to bring down inflation in Nigeria through suspension of tariff and import duty for food and raw materials for production.
Minister of Finance, Wale Edun made this known during a presentation of the proposed Accelerated Stabilisation and Advancement Plan, ASAP, noting that it will also cover pharmaceuticals, inputs for agriculture production and other fiscal measures.
According to him, the plan recently presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was designed to end Nigeria’s economic hardship.
Similarly, it will authorise millers to import paddy rice at zero duty and Value Added Tax for 6 months.
The document reads in part; “The import duty and other tariffs on the following items are hereby suspended for six months: staple food items, raw materials and other direct inputs used for manufacturing, inputs for agriculture production including fertilizers, seedlings, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, poultry feeds, flour and grains.
“Value Added Tax, where applicable, is hereby suspended on the following items for the rest of the year 2024: Basic food items and semi-processed, staple food items such as noodles and raw material inputs for the manufacturing of food items, electricity and public transportation, agricultural inputs and produce, and pharmaceutical products”.
This comes as the nation’s headline and food inflation increased to 33.69 percent and 40.53 percent, respectively.
