The Federal Government has said that the implementation of a waiver of taxes on imported food items and drugs will commence next week.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Bashir Adeniyi, stated this on Tuesday at a joint press briefing by service chiefs and heads of security agencies at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

He attributed the delay in the implementation of the tax waiver after President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the late release of guidelines from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Adeniyi said: “One of the things that the President has done is to reduce the cost of food to reduce the effects of inflation by suspending customs duties and taxes on imported food items for a period of time. We believe that when this is implemented, it will help reduce the prices of food items on the market.

“The Nigeria Customs Service is committed to the implementation of this particular fiscal policy as enunciated by the government, but we need to be very careful in the implementation of this policy, and this is why the guidelines for implementation are being meticulously worked out at the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“We must address the interests of all the stakeholders because most of these food items are going to enjoy duty waivers and concessions, and some of the imported items are also being cultivated locally. Their interests would also be protected.

“There is the issue of striking a balance between the long-term interest of Nigerian farmers and Nigerian stakeholders who are involved in the production of these items and the short-term interest of addressing food inflation.

“So the guidelines are being worked out at the Federal Ministry of Finance, and I can assure you that within the next one week, these guidelines will be ready and Nigerian customs will begin implementation of these particular fiscal policies.”

Mr Adeniyi pleaded with Nigerians to exercise a bit of patience for the policy to take off and assured that prices of food items would come down.