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The National Assembly has reintroduced the push for a 5% excise duty on telecommunications, gaming, betting, and lottery services, despite the sector’s previous exemption from this tax under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The proposal comes through the ‘Nigeria Tax Bill 2024,’ which seeks to implement the duty on services, including telecoms, that had been previously suspended by President Bola Tinubu in an effort to ease the tax burden on businesses and households.
One of the four executive orders signed by President Tinubu on July 6, 2023, had specifically suspended this tax on telecom services. The new bill, however, plans to reintroduce the excise duty, stating that charges levied by service providers, whether in monetary terms or equivalent value, would be subject to the tax at rates outlined in the Tenth Schedule of the act.
The bill also touches on currency exchange transactions involving the naira, mandating that such transactions should not exceed the prevailing exchange rate as set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Any transaction exceeding the official rate would result in the excess being payable as excise duty by the seller, assessed on a self-assessment basis under the Nigeria Tax Act.
The move has sparked renewed attention, as it follows the government’s earlier decision to temporarily suspend such taxes to avoid further strain on the economy.
