August 19, (THEWILL) — President Bola Tinubu has scrapped the proposed 5% excise duty on telecommunications services in Nigeria.
The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
In July 2022, the Federal Government announced plans to implement a five percent excise duty tax on telecom services in a bid to increase its revenue sources.
While the Government suspended the implementation on September 5, 2022, it inaugurated a committee chaired by the then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to review the policy.
Pantani had on March 22, 2023, said the committee recommended complete removal of the levy.
Speaking at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, confirmed that the levy, which was initially suspended, had now been completely scrapped in the new tax laws.
“The excise duty, it was the 5 percent or so, that is no longer there. Before it was suspended, but now the president has been magnanimous to remove it entirely. I was in a room when it was raised, and he said, No, no, no, we cannot put this on Nigerians. I was very pleased when the bills came out and we saw his words were followed through”, he said.
With the removal, operators and subscribers alike are projected to enjoy some relief, even as the government seeks to balance revenue generation with policies that support economic growth and digital inclusion.
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