FMITI outlines strategy to boost exports, strengthen SEZ

The Federal Ministry of Industry, trade, and Investment (FMITI) has outlined its strategy to boost exports, expand access to financing, and drive regulatory reforms to strengthen the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects.

Speaking at the 3rd Special Economic Zones annual meeting themed ‘Fostering Strategic Synergies for Enhanced Special Economic Zones Operations and Sustainable Economic Growth,’ Jumoke Oduwole, minister of industry, trade, and investment said that the ministry is prioritising a regulatory synergy by ensuring that fiscal, monetary, and trade policies align.

‘The Ministry is actively working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) to ensure incentives in SEZs remain competitive,” Oduwole said.

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She stated that trade facilitation initiatives such as modernising Nigeria’s Commodity Exchange, enhancing public-private partnerships, and supporting preferential trade agreements with key nations would create a robust trade environment that fosters industrialisation and investment attraction.

She emphasised the need for policy consistency, infrastructure improvement, and regulatory synergy to boost exports and industrialisation.

She noted that the administration aims to leverage the SEZs to drive digital trade, and economic diversification to create high-paying jobs and positioning Nigeria as a continental hub for digital trade services.

‘FMITI has engaged key stakeholders, including, the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, and the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, to ensure the alignment of SEZ incentives with national economic priorities,” she said.

Following deliberations with the presidential committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms on the impact of some proposed provisions in the Nigeria tax bill on the non-accrual of tax reliefs to entities that sell more than 25 percent of their goods in the customs territory, Oduwole stated that the committee has proposed a resolution by revising to provision to ensure that businesses operating in a designated zone will not pay taxes on its profits if all its sales come from exporting goods or services or 10 supplying materials used for export.

“Additionally, the tax benefits given to such businesses must be just as favourable as those given to similar businesses operating within the regular customs area, especially when selling to the local market,” she said.

Nabil Saleh, chairman, Nigeria Economic Zones (NEZ) association appealed to President Tinubu through FMITI to continue sharpening this course and providing the necessary support to ensure the success of the SZEs.

He stated that the challenges facing the zones such as the lack of a consistent policy framework and overlapping regulations.