Nigeria’s telecommunications sector has again strongly rejected the Federal Government’s attempt to reintroduce a 5 per cent excise duty on telecommunications services.
Stakeholders described the move as insensitive to the current economic climate and the financial struggles faced by consumers.
This proposal is part of a broader tax reform initiative outlined in a new bill titled “A Bill for an Act to Repeal Certain Acts on Taxation and Consolidate the Legal Frameworks relating to Taxation and Enact the Nigeria Tax Act to Provide for Taxation of Income, Transactions, and Instruments, and Related Matters,” dated October 4, 2024.
The excise duty structure in the bill indicates that telecom services, including postpaid and prepaid services regulated by the Nigerian Communications Commission, will attract a five per cent duty.
“Services, including telecommunications, gaming, gambling, betting, and lotteries, however described, provided in Nigeria shall be charged with duties of excise at the rates specified under the Tenth Schedule to this Act in a manner as may be prescribed by the Service,” part of the proposal stated.
The reintroduction of excise duty follows a history of attempts to impose this tax as Africa’s fourth-largest economy and most populous nation scrambles for revenue to resuscitate its dwindling economy.
