Telecom subscribers to pay 5% tax on calls, texts and data as NCC rallies stakeholders for implementation

The federal government has revealed that telecom subscribers will pay a 5% tax on calls, texts and data services.

This comes as the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) have called the move strange , insensitive and irresponsible.

DAILY POST learned this at a Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) stakeholder forum on the implementation of excise duty on all telecommunications services held in Abuja on Thursday .

Speaking at the event, Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Ms. Zainab Ahmed, urged stakeholders to support the implementation of the 5% practice fee on services telecommunications.

Zainab represented by Deputy Director, Tax and Policy, Mr. Musa Umar appreciated NCC for providing the platform to increase Nigeria's revenue generation.

She pointed out that countries in Africa like Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and others have all embraced this revenue generation model.

She stressed that this was necessary to permanently change the economic situation in Nigeria.

"The question of income is not something to be avoided, our income can no longer meet our needs as a country.

"Furthermore, Nigeria no longer makes enough money from oil revenues, hence the focus shifts to non-revenues".

She explained that the government is committed to implementing the settlement in a transparent manner that will not affect Nigerians.

Earlier in his remarks, Executive Vice President/CEO of the NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta, said the forum was needed for stakeholders to get better clarifications on the right to practice of 5 % on the implementation of telecommunications services.

"As the regulator of the telecommunications sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission has spoken with the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigerian Customs Service and consultants from the World Bank to obtain the necessary clarifications.

“These engagements have given us a better understanding of the objectives and proposed enforcement mechanisms of the excise duty.

"Nevertheless, we consider it imperative that these implementing agencies also meet directly with telecommunications industry stakeholders to address areas of concern," he said.

For his part, the Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs, Hameed Ali, urged stakeholders to show patriotism in implementing the policy.

Hameed represented by NCS Deputy Comptroller General, Mrs. A.S Oshishi revealed that telecom operators should be duly registered with the service for a seamless refresh of the process.

"Either to pass the cost on to the consumer or capture it in a credit. Payment must be made in arrears on the 21st of each month," he said.

Reacting to the development, ALTON Chairman, Engineer Gbenga Adebayo insisted that the new tax burden would be passed on to subscribers.

"It's a strange move, it seems a bit unusual. The exercise rights are supposed to be spread across goods and products, but we're surprised it's for services.

"We will continue to support the government, but ALTON will not be able to subsidize this on behalf of subscribers in addition to the 7.5% VAT, making it 12.5% ​​payable by subscribers to the federal government.< /p>

"We are currently paying a lot of taxes, including 39 of them, so that we can add more to our existing burden. We will not be able to absolve this on behalf of subscribers.

“The 5% excise duty will be paid by subscribers. It will be collected by operators on all voice and data services, including OTT, and remitted to Nigerian Customs,” he said.

For his part, ATCON Chairman, Engineer Ken Nnamani said, "The proposed exercise duty fails to adhere to the principles of taxation, fairness, certainty, convenience and efficiency".

Nnamani represented by the Executive Secretary of ATCON, Mr. Ajibola Olude, said that FG continued to turn a blind eye to the currency issue, other challenges facing telecom operators in Nigeria.

He added that the telecommunications industry was bleeding, but the federal government wanted to make the lot of carriers worse off with additional taxes.

He called for the implementation of the exercise requirement to be removed as many young people in Nigeria will lose their jobs.

He advised the government to focus its efforts on developing other sectors.

Similarly, the chairman of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbajo, said the government's action is insensitive and untimely.

"It's unfortunate that the 5% practice fee comes back with 38 other taxes.

He said that other countries in Africa that pay a 5% tax on telecommunications services do not have 39 other taxes.

In his words, "it's insensitive...