Plans by the Federal Government to place excise duty on non-alcoholic drinks has drawn criticism from organised labour that warned that imposition of tax on non-alcoholic beverages would “collapse” the sector.
Opposing the plan by the FG is the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association (FOTOB), through its President, Jimoh Oyibo, at the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria’s, (LAWAN) forum in Lagos.
Oyibo highlighted the negative effects the levy would have on the bottom line of the already struggling beverage companies in the country.
He noted the importance of the food, beverage and tobacco sector, adding that the sector “must be taken care of”.
He said, “if government goes ahead to introduce exercise duty on soft drinks, the country will be in a total mess and outright collapse of the sector.
“The 30 percent excise levy on alcoholic drinks is not enough justification to subject companies that are struggling to survive to another financial burden. If this country needs to survive, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Sector must be taken care of.
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“The federal government must engage all stakeholders constructively to arrive at a more beneficial conclusion to save the already struggling companies in the sector that are only surviving on a small profit margin.”
Earlier this year, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) pushed for the return of excise duty on locally produced non-alcoholic drinks.
The NCS’s boss, Hameed Ali, at an interactive session on the 2022-2024 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) expressed hope in the re-introduction of excise duty on non-alcoholic drinks.
He said, “I have sung this song for many years now, Coca-Cola is producing in this country and it is not being taxed. There is nowhere you go in the world that Coca-Cola is not paying tax to its host country, but Coca-Cola in this country is not paying anything because of the government unwillingness to re-excise those companies.
“For us, we have been battling for it, and I hope that one day, we will start collecting.”
