The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has urged stakeholders in the telecom industry to disregard any attempt to impose a five per cent excise duty on telecom services.
The Punch reported that Pantami emphasised the sector’s exemption from excise duty tax with approval from the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
According to him, the approval of the exemption announced on March 21, 2023, supersedes any other declaration concerning the issue.
This comes after a leaked circular dated April 20, 2023, and signed by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, suggested that the Federal Government planned to proceed with the implementation of a five per cent excise duty tax on mobile telephone services, fixed telephone, and internet services, despite announcing an earlier exemption.
The circular, titled ‘Approval for the Implementation of the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariff Amendments,’ stated that the President had approved the implementation of the 2023 fiscal policy measures.
However, in response to the leaked circular, a statement from the Senior Special Assistant Media/Spokesperson for the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mrs Uwa Suleiman, confirmed that the President’s exemption of the digital economy sector from excise duty tax remains. She stated that any contrary proclamation should be disregarded by the general public.
“The office of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, hereby assures the sector and the general public that the President’s approval supersedes all other declarations regarding the issue, and we stand by it. Any contrary proclamation should be disregarded by the general public,” the statement reads.
According to the report, the statement further confirmed that Pantami remains opposed to the proposed five per cent excise duty tax on telecoms services, as he considers the tax to be unjustifiable and burdensome on consumers of the service.
