Centre wants planned imposition of excise duties on manufacturers suspended

The Centre for Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called for suspension of the planned imposition of excise duties on manufacturers.

  The Finance Minister, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had earlier this year hinted that excise duty will be imposed on a range of manufactured goods in the country anytime soon.

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Making case for the manufacturers, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CPPE, Dr Muda Yusuf said these are very difficult times for the sector as they contend with the escalating cost of production arising from elevated energy costs, rising operating expenses, sharp currency depreciation, forex market illiquidity, galloping inflation and numerous structural bottlenecks.

He pointed out that manufacturers are also experiencing significant spikes in the cost of raw materials, cost of funds, high import duty, the prohibitive cost of transportation and high cost of logistics; noting that a huge proportion of the costs cannot be passed on to the consumers because of weak purchasing power and high consumer resistance.

According to him, the manufacturing sector offers good prospects for job creation and lifting more Nigerians out of poverty but noted that if the burden of tax becomes excessive and unbearable on the critical sector, the realisation of the outcomes by the government would be difficult.

He, therefore, emphasised that what the sector needs at this time is more stimulus, and not more taxes; given the strategic importance of the sector to the nation’s economy.

As a result of the porosity of the country’s borders, the expert echoed that manufacturers are struggling with unfair competition, especially from products imported from Asia which have flooded the Nigerian market. “These imports are often much cheaper than goods produced locally,” he stated.