Author Abolaji Adebayo


Following the passage of the 2022 Finance Bill, Nigerian telecoms subscribers may have to pay more for telecom services such as calls, data, SMS, and other services. This is as the suspended five per cent excise duty on telecommunication services introduced in July, this year still featured again in the 2022 Finance Bill. The implication of this is that from next year, the telecoms sector will have to charge additional tax.

It would be recalled that when introduced in July, this year, all stakeholders in the industry including the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, quickly rejected it and forced the decision to be suspended. The excise duty was captured in the 2021 Finance Act, but moves by the Ministry of Finance to implement it were shot down. Pantami had faulted the timing and process of imposing the tax on the telecoms industry, arguing that part of the responsibility of responsive government was not to increase the problems of the citizens. However, the duty has been again featured in the 2022 Finance Bill, which was passed by the Senate yesterday.

The Nigerian Senate yesterday officially passed into law the Finance Bill 2022 following a third reading on the floor of the Senate. The development was confirmed in a statement by the Senate at the end of a plenary session yesterday. According to the statement, Senator Adeola Solomon moved the motion for the Senate to receive and consider the report on the Finance Bill, 2022 by the Senate Committee on Finance. The move was seconded by Senator Isah Jibrin after which the bill was read for the third time and then passed.

Reacting in separate interviews with New Telegraph, the industry players and stakeholders kicked against the Bill and sought redress. They expressed shock that the excise duty still featured in the 2022 Finance Bill after it was totally rejected when it was introduced in July with cogent reasons for it not to be sustained. The President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the Federal Government would be dragged to court next week if it refuses to reverse the policy.

“We rejected this duty when it was introduced mid this year and we all believed it has been removed justifying the burden it will put on the subscribers. We shall go to court next week to challenge this,” he said. He also said consideration of the Draft Bill concerning the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was not welcomed as it would create various challenges in the telecoms sector. Also speaking, the Presi-dent of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Ikechukwu Nnamani, described the development as unfortunate.

He said: “I am just reading from you that it was still included in the Finance Bill. I will have to look into that since I have not seen the Finance Bill passed. As you noted the industry rejected this as an additional tax burden on the industry and the subscribers and we were assured it has been rescinded. If it has been passed as part of the Finance Bill it is most unfortunate because it will lead to hardship on the subscribers.” In another development, which is the NITDA Draft Bill, Nnamani said: “For the NITDA Bill ATCON members are still reviewing it and ATCON will make an official statement on it after we have received all the inputs back from our members. The draft bill has been circulated to our members and it is currently being reviewed. ATCON will also participate in any future public hearing on it so our position will be known.”

https://www.newtelegraphng.com/phone-tax-nigerians-to-pay-more-for-calls-data-as-senate-passes-finance-bill/

Nlfpmod

Make this people no kill person.

What the Minister of communications rejected on the ground of the timing and also being burdensome on the citizens has finally been passed into law. I understand that the Govt. needs funds but they should seek inputs from stakeholders too.