President Bola Tinubu has permanently abolished the 5% excise duty on telecommunications services.
Industry watchers say the levy had faced strong opposition from industry operators and consumer groups.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in Abuja by the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, during a media briefing.
“The 5 percent excise duty is no longer in effect,” Maida said. “It was initially suspended, but the President has now completely removed it. I was present when the issue was raised, and he firmly said, ‘No, we cannot place this burden on Nigerians.’”
The tax, which applied to mobile voice and data services, was first suspended in July 2023 as part of Tinubu’s fiscal reforms to ease multiple taxation on businesses and households.
However, it resurfaced in late 2024 when the National Assembly proposed reinstating it as part of revenue measures.
Industry stakeholders, including the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), had warned that the levy would drive up the cost of digital access, strain operators already battling high operational expenses, and slow Nigeria’s digital growth.
With the President’s directive now backed by law, the excise duty has been fully scrapped, a move expected to provide relief for consumers and support growth in the telecom sector, which is central to Nigeria’s digital economy.
