NBCC urges FG to review plan hike in excise duties

By Joy Obakeye

The Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) has urged the federal government to review the proposed hike in specific excise components of some products, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

This was disclosed in a statement by the President and Chairman of the Council, Mrs Bisi Adeyemi, stressing that it is a significant digression from its adopted 2022 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariffs Amendments (FPM 2022) roadmap, which covers the excise expansion from 2022-2024 as approved by the president in March 2022, DailyTimesNGR gathered.

“We, therefore, implore the Federal Government to retain the approved excise regime as contained in the approved FPM 2022, covering the period from 2022 to 2024 as any sudden hike in excise would be counterproductive.

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“The benefits of the retention cannot be overemphasized, some of which include a steadily increasing tax contribution from the affected sectors which will be delivered by the 2022 FPM; these sectors can support the government’s objective of reducing the high rate of unemployment reported to be at about 33.3 per cent, and improve the inflow of foreign direct investment as investors’ confidence is strengthened by government’s continuous demonstration of its willingness to create an enabling environment through stable and consistent policies.”