The House of Representatives has instructed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to stop collecting the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) levy by June 30, 2025. The directive was issued on Monday during a budget review session by the House Committee on Customs and Excise.

Chairman of the Committee, Leke Abejide (ADC, Kogi), raised concerns over the legality of the levy and other deductions made by Customs, stating that the CISS is not backed by any legislation in the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

“This Committee is aware that CISS has no legal foundation. It is not contained in any law passed by this parliament,” Abejide said during a 2024 budget performance review and the 2025 budget defence. He also described as illegal the 7% cost of collection retained by the Service.

The Committee questioned why Customs had recorded no income from the CISS levy in 2024, even though the levy was one of the supposed sources of funds for personnel, overhead, and capital projects. Abejide added that despite Customs surpassing its revenue target for 2024 by over ₦1 trillion, it still failed to fully meet its basic funding obligations.

He pointed to concerns about payments made to Web Fontaine, a private firm contracted for automation services, despite the Service now performing most of those functions internally. Abejide demanded clarity on why Customs had not received its share of the 1% CISS levy, saying the only legal revenue base for Customs remains the 4% Free-On-Board (FOB) provision enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.

The issue was raised again by Rep. Awaji-Inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers), who called the CISS a holdover from military rule, not ratified by any democratic legislative process. “Why are you still operating the illegal 1%?” he asked.

Responding, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said the Service was in the process of engaging stakeholders on the matter. “We didn’t receive any revenue from the 1% CISS this year,” he stated, acknowledging that the issue had been flagged last year but was not resolved.

Abejide, however, insisted that the levy must cease by month-end. “By June 30, 2025, you must stop collecting the CISS. You are to collect only what the President has signed into law: the 4% FOB. Any attempt to continue after June will face legal consequences,” he warned.

He expressed surprise at the underfunding of Customs despite exceeding its 2024 revenue target of ₦5.08 trillion by generating ₦6.11 trillion. According to him, personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures remained at 43.53%, 46.34%, and 45.68% respectively.

In his response, Adeniyi outlined the Service’s ongoing efforts to improve revenue generation and reduce leakages. He cited plans to intensify anti-smuggling campaigns, review tax expenditure policies, and increase operational efficiency through new training and recruitment programmes.