The Federal Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, has assured manufacturers that the country’s free trade zones are designed to accelerate exports and not to harm local manufacturers.
Oduwole made this assertion while addressing concerns by local industrial stakeholders at a recent press briefing in Lagos, emphasising that the zones must operate within the intended guidelines to foster economic growth.
She noted, “Nigeria is a situation where some, not all, but some players in the free trade zone have been exporting 100 per cent into the domestic market, which of course distorts things for the manufacturers within Nigeria that are paying taxes.”
She explained that the fundamental purpose of free zones is to provide tax relief to facilitate exports, adding, “The essence of the free zones is to give you some tax relief, enable you to facilitate your exports,” she said, while also clarifying that only 25 per cent of goods produced in these zones may be sold at the local market without incurring taxes.
