Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed four Executive Orders into law to curb arbitrary taxation policy in the country.
Special Adviser, Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, to the President, Dele Alake, announced the policy directive on Thursday during an interactive session with State House Correspondents.
One of the key executive orders signed by President Tinubu involves the suspension of the 5% excise tax on telecom services, as well as the escalation of excise duties on locally manufactured products.
Alake also revealed that President Tinubu signed the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, 2023, which now defers the commencement date of the changes contained in the Act from May 23, 2023, to September 1, 2023.
He explained that this will ensure adherence to the 90-day minimum advance notice for tax changes contained in the 2017 National Tax Policy.
In accordance with the National Tax Policy, President Tinubu also signed The Customs Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, 2023, shifting the commencement date of the tax changes from March 27, 2023, to August 1, 2023.
Additionally, the president suspended the newly introduced Green Tax through the Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, such as plastic bottles and containers, as well as the Import Tax Adjustment levy.
Tinubu also suspended the Import Tax Adjustment Levy on certain vehicles, recognizing the need to ease financial strains.
Alake stressed that the president’s primary goal in issuing these orders was to mitigate the negative effects of recent tax adjustments.
Briefing correspondents on the rationale behind President Tinubu’s decision to review some of the tax policies signed by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, Alake said,
“You will all recall that prior to the advent of this Administration, certain tax changes were introduced via the Customs, Excise Tariff (Variation) Amendment Order, 2023 (henceforth referred to as ‘the Order’) published on the 8th of May 2023 and Finance Act, 2023, which was signed into law on the 28th of May 2023.
“Among others, the Order introduced new Excise Duty on Single Use Plastics (SUPs), higher Excise Duties on some locally manufactured products, including alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, and Green Tax by way of Import Tax Adjustment on certain categories of imported vehicles.
