The Federal Government has removed VAT and customs duty payments from cooking gas imports, a letter from the Ministry of Finance to several government agencies has stated.
“The federal government has decided to waive customs duty and value-added tax (VAT) on the importation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also known as cooking gas and its associated equipment,” it reads.
This action aims to bring down the cost of cooking gas across the country.
The Ministry of Finance conveyed the message in the letter dated November 28, 2023, and addressed to several officials including the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Ministerof Finance, Wale Edun, who signed the letter, noted that this measure would help to reduce the cost of cooking gas, and make it more accessible.
Recently, data by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that on average, the cost of cooking gas grew month-on-month and year-on-year.
The Cooking Gas Price Watch for October 2023 showed that the average retail cost for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) saw a month-on-month rise of 14.04%, rising from N9,247.40 in September 2023 to N10,545.87 in October 2023.