NEPZA Says Free Trade Zones Scheme Generated N35bn As Customs Duty In 2021

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has disclosed that the country’s free trade zones (FTZs) scheme generated a total of N35.1 billion for the government as customs duty in 2021.

Adesoji Adesugba, managing director of NEPZA, while speaking to the press on Sunday said the sum of N408.3 million was also remitted as pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) taxes in the same year.

According to Adesugba, PAYE tax is one of the vital types of taxes in Nigeria that individuals pay to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) within their respective state of residence.

He said section 19 of the NEPZA Act mandates FTZs enterprises to file returns for statistics and data.

In addition, section 8 stipulates that enterprises operating in zones should be exempted from federal, state and local government taxes, the NEPZA chief executive officer (CEO) said.

These enterprises, Adesugba said, are under obligation to pay all deferred taxes and duties when they extend their businesses to the customs territories.

Speaking further on the success of the FTZs, he said the scheme created 19,125 jobs in 2021, while a total of 3,000 job skills were transferred to Nigerians in the same year.