In a post on its official X (formerly Twitter) page on Thursday, the National Orientation Agency announced that the Federal Government had abolished the 5% excise duty tax that had previously been applied to telecommunications services, such as voice calls and data usage.
According to the post, Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, revealed that President Bola Tinubu had ordered the tax’s removal during discussions on the recently passed Finance Act. The NCC head stated that the move is anticipated to alleviate cost pressures for millions of mobile users nationwide, and that the President’s intervention was intended to support the digital economy while avoiding further financial strain on the populace.
Over 171 million active telecom subscribers nationwide, many of whom had to deal with a 50% pricing increase earlier this year, are anticipated to benefit from the development, he continued.
According to reports, the levy was implemented during the previous administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and it applies to both voice calls and data subscriptions.
When the 5% excise charge was first introduced in 2022, it was widely criticized by consumer advocacy organizations and telecom carriers, who said it would make things more difficult for Nigerians financially as living expenses increased.
In order to increase revenue creation in the face of declining oil earnings, the government provided a rationale at the time.
At the time, the Ministry of Finance maintained that the levy was consistent with international taxation standards.
However, the strategy will be ineffective, according to telecom providers who are part of the Association of Licensed Telecom providers of Nigeria.
Nigeria already has one of the highest tax loads on the sub-Saharan African telecom industry, according to the ALTON.
