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.

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”

“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.

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.