Technology
Tinubu Signs Order Suspending 5% Excise Tax On Telecoms
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed four Executive Orders, one of which is the suspension of the five per cent Excise Tax on telecommunication services as well as the Excise Duties escalation on locally manufactured products.
The Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, announced this on Thursday while briefing journalists at the State House in Abuja.
He stated that the President also 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.
According to the presidential spokesman, this is to ensure adherence to the 90-day minimum advance notice for tax changes as contained in the 2017 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 and also in line with the National Tax Policy.
Mr Tinubu also ordered the suspension of the newly introduced Green Tax by way of Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, including plastic containers and bottles as well as the suspension of Import Tax Adjustment levy on certain vehicles.
Mr Alake explained that the President issued these orders to ease the negative impacts of the tax adjustments on businesses and chokehold on households across affected sectors.
He reiterated the President’s commitment to reviewing complaints about multiple taxation, local and anti-business inhibitions.
He also noted that President Tinubu’s administration will, therefore, continue to give requisite stimulus by way of friendly policies to allow businesses to flourish in the country.
The President assured Nigerians that there will not be further tax raise without robust and wide consultations undertaken within the context of a coherent fiscal policy framework.
This order officially puts into signing the move carried about by former president Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, which in late March announced the exemption of the Nigerian digital economy from the proposed 5 per cent excise duty introduced in 2022.
Then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Pantami, opposing the move, said this was in line with the recommendations of the committee constituted to review the applicability of the duty to the telecom sector, which is considered already overburdened with taxation and sundry levies.
According to a statement, Mr Pantami said the justifications for the exemptions were based on three premises.
First was the fact that operators in the telecoms sub-sector of the digital economy industry currently pay no fewer than 41 different categories of taxes, levies and charges.
Another was that telecoms have continued to be a major contributor to the Nigerian economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product Contribution (GDP), and last was the fact that the telecom sector was the only sector where the cost of service has been stable and in many cases continued to go down over the past years.
In August 2022, the federal government announced that it would begin implementing the proposed excise taxes on telecommunications and beverage services in 2023.
Technology
Interswitch Supports Push for Vibrant Digital Ecosystem in Africa
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce companies, Interswitch, has expressed its commitment to promoting a vibrant digital ecosystem on the continent.
The Nigerian fintech firm reaffirmed this by supporting the recently concluded Google Developer Groups (GDG) DevFest Ibadan, Oyo State.
The flagship conference, which held at the Aweni Arena in Ibadan, brought together developers, tech enthusiasts, and industry leaders for a dynamic day of knowledge sharing, networking, and exploration of cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, and mobile app development.
Now in its fifth edition, DevFest Ibadan has grown in scale and impact over the years, attracting thousands of attendees from across Oyo State and beyond.
Participants enjoyed a variety of engaging activities, including thought-provoking talks, hands-on workshops, and hackathons designed to inspire innovation and foster collaboration.
Interswitch said it threw its full weight behind this programme because of its unwavering commitment to advancing Nigeria’s technology landscape and nurturing the next generation of innovators.
“At Interswitch, we recognise the pivotal role developers and tech communities play in driving innovation across the continent.
“Sponsoring GDG DevFest Ibadan 2024 aligns perfectly with our mission to equip these communities with the tools, platforms, and opportunities they need to innovate, collaborate, and succeed.
“We are committed to promoting a vibrant ecosystem that accelerates Africa’s digital transformation while nurturing the next wave of innovators shaping the future of fintech in Nigeria and beyond,” the Divisional Head for Growth Marketing (Merchants and Ecosystems) at Interswitch, Mr Olawale Akanbi, said.
In her presentation, a Developer Ecosystem Executive at Interswitch, Ms Elizabeth Okaome, highlighted the company’s robust suite of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and their use cases, supported with live demos.
Cutting across payments integration, transfers, bill payments and airtime recharge, identity verification or lending services, Interswitch APIs equip developers with tools to enable secure and seamless online and offline payment acceptance).
Another highlight at the event was the introduction of the Quickteller Business Referral Programme, also known as the ‘5 for 5’ Initiative, which offers developers or any referrer an opportunity to earn 5% commission on Interswitch’s share of every transaction charge, for five whole years, while enabling businesses to thrive.
Technology
Nigerians to Know New Tariffs for Calls, Data, SMS Today
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian will today, Friday, January 10, 2025, know what they will henceforth pay to make calls, send SMS, and browse the internet as telecommunication operators have received the approval of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to raise tariffs.
This will bring an end to the long-term tussle for a hike in tariffs, which telcos wanted to be at 100 per cent, but the Nigerian government rejected.
Industry sources have shared with the media that the new tariffs will be announced by the NCC on Friday.
on Wednesday, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijan, at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, said the NCC would come up with modalities for tariff adjustment in the telecoms industry.
“We’ve look at a number of things in terms of how to ensure that can meaningfully contribute to the development of Nigeria.
“Some of those things include implementing the Executive Order around ensuring that we can protect infrastructure around telecoms, driving up significantly local content and importantly, ensuring the sustainability of the companies themselves that as we see inflation across the world that telecommunications companies, we don’t run them down but we allow them to continue to be sustainable so that they can contribute to our economy.
“You have seen over the past weeks that there has been agitation from some of these companies to increase tariffs, requesting for 100 per cent tariff increase. This is not something that as a government we will be able to subscribe to at the minute,” he stated.
Recently, the chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, said in an interview that although operators have put forward the 100 per cent suggestion, he doubts that the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), would accept.
“Now, we’ve put forward requests of approximately 100 per cent and type increases to the regulators,” he said.
The operators have also said the sustainability of the telecommunications industry in Nigeria needs to be addressed, if not, it could negatively impact Nigeria’s economy.
Mr Toriola’s counterpart at Airtel, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, in an op-ed published by this newspaper said it was needed to acquiesce to the proposed tariff adjustments in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the sector while unlocking significant benefits for Nigerian consumers.
“For over a decade, tariffs have remained static despite the dramatic increase in operating expenses, which have surged by over 300% in the last 18 to 24 months alone,” he wrote.
Technology
FG Rejects Proposed 100% Tariff Hike in Call, Data Services by Telcos
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The prices of calls, data and others will not be increased by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria by 100 per cent as being proposed, the federal government has assured citizens.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, after a meeting with the operators on Wednesday in Abuja, however, said Nigerians should expect to pay more for call and data services very soon to keep the operators afloat, especially due to rising cost of doing business in the country.
The telcos had asked the government for permission to increase tariffs by 100 per cent because the current rates were no longer sustainable.
The chief executives of two of the leading operators in Nigeria, MTN and Airtel, said they would want tariffs to be raised by 100 per cent to guarantee qualify service delivery.
Operators in the sector had warned that if the rates were not raised by the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), they may begin to ration their services across the nation to remain in business.
“You have seen over the past weeks that some of these companies have been agitated to increase tariffs. They are requesting a 100 per cent tariff increase.
“But it will not be by 100 per cent; the NCC will soon come up with a clear directive on how we will go about it.
“We want to strike the balance as a government, to protect our people, but also protect and ensure that these companies can continue to invest significantly,” Mr Tijani said yesterday.
“As a country, over time, we have left these investments in the hands of the private sector. They typically invest where they can see returns in the short to medium term.
“We will not want this conversation to just be about tariff increase. What the world is talking about today is meaningful connectivity; people want to have access to quality service.
“A part of it that the consumers may not be aware of is the investment that needs to go into the infrastructure that is used to deliver these services,” he noted.
On his part, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Mr Aminu Maida, said, “We have looked at all of these factors, and that is why, as the Minister said, it is not likely that we are going to approve a 100 per cent tariff increase.
“I know that Nigerians are agitated to hear the exact percentage approved. We are still going through some stakeholder engagements, but you will hear from us within a week or two.”
“We are moving away from the regime where you will have a main rate, then you will now have a bonus which is at a different rate.
“It makes it often complicated and difficult for Nigerians to actually understand what they are being charged for. There is this agitation that the MNOs are stealing our data,” he added.
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