The Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, says President Bola Tinubu has removed the five percent excise duty on telecommunications services.
Maida, who addressed journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, said the levy, which had been temporarily suspended, has now been scrapped under the new tax law.
“The excise duty, it was the 5 percent or so, that is no longer there,” he said.
“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, we cannot put this on Nigerians. I was very pleased when the bills came out and we saw his words were followed through.”
Few months after his assumption of office in 2023, Tinubu signed four executive orders, including the suspension of the 5 percent excise tax on telecommunication services to ameliorate the negative impact of tax adjustments on businesses and households.
However, the National Assembly proposed the reintroduction of the excise duty on telecommunications services, gaming, betting, and lottery activities in 2024.
The proposal was rejected by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), which said it would be unfair for the government to impose an excise duty when it is struggling to sustain operations.
