Government Slashes Import Concessions by 20% to Recapture $30 Million Annually
Based on the 2026 Budget Address, Prime Minister Godwin Friday referred to a figure of $624.1 million regarding duty-free concessions. He identified this sum as the cumulative revenues forgone by the State over the period of 2022 to 2025 due to the scale of import concessions granted.
He described this level of revenue loss as “no longer sustainable” and a “substantial and growing fiscal cost”.
Friday stated that in 2025 alone, the government gave away $152.3 million in concessions.
The Prime Minister noted that this amount was equivalent to 64% of all revenue actually collected from taxes on imports, meaning “more than half of the revenue we should have collected at the border was given away”.
He specifically pointed out that “Special Cabinet concessions” accounted for a significant share of this increase, suggesting a lack of disciplined management in that area.
The government proposes a 20% reduction in total import concessions. This is estimated to generate an additional $30.4 million in revenue annually.
Friday said the reduction will not be an outright abolition of concessions. Instead, it will be achieved through tighter eligibility criteria, stronger oversight of discretionary concessions, and targeting specific priority sectors.
The recovered revenue is intended to be redeployed to reduce the fiscal deficit, fund capital investment, or strengthen social spending in health and education.