The Federal Government yesterday suspended the proposed excise duty on telecommunication services. The suspension was made public by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, on Monday during the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Committee on Excise Duty for the Digital Economy Sector in Abuja. According to Pantami, the telecommunications sector is already overburdened by excessive and multiple taxation. The committee includes: Pantami Chairman, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, the Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Representatives of all the telecom companies in Nigeria are members.
“It is because of my intervention that the President granted my prayers. He not only granted immediate suspension of the excise duty in the digital economy sector but also approved that a committee is constituted to look into the matter carefully and advise accordingly," Pantami said while announcing the suspension of the tax yesterday.
“The president has appointed me to be his eyes and ears in the sector and it is my responsibility to ensure we are just and fair to the operators, government, and most importantly our people that are the consumers,” the minister added.
The Ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Customs Service had recently announced plans to start implementation of proposed five percent exercise duties on telecommunication services and beverages in 2023.
But in a quick reaction, Pantami kicked against the move, stressing that it will increase the cost of telecommunication services, impoverish Nigerians more and widen the gap in telecom access in the country.
