Buhari exempts digital economy sector from 5% excise duty

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, says President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the exemption of the digital economy sector from 5 per cent excise duty.

Pantami made this known on Tuesday during a press briefing by the Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in Abuja.

The Minister had on Sept. 5, 2022 ,suspended the imposition of a 5 per cent excise duty on the sector.

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He explained that, 41 categories of taxes, levies and charges are already in the digital economy sector; hence there is no justification for an additional excise duty.

Pantami said: “The sector has been contributing hugely to Nigeria’s economy; We increased revenue generated by 594 per cent from N51 billion quarterly to N481 billion quarterly”

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“This is the only sector where the prices of services have been reduced. Many MSMEs and SMEs depend on the sector for survival; if the tax is increased, the impact will take a toll on these businesses.”

The Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, reiterated the commission’s commitment to improving the telecom industry.

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He said the reduction of data had been the main target of the commission, adding that the average 1 gigabit of data had dropped to N335 from N350.