The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said that the Federal Government is considering placing excise duties on carbonated soft drinks in order to boost its revenue base.
Ahmed said this on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings taking place in Washington DC, United States.
Nigerian Breweries Plc said it plans to raise prices on its products to boost revenue and profit as the impact of the new excise duty rate increase hit earnings.
While speaking at the company’s Pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Jordi Borrut Bel, said that with the second wave of excise duty rate increase set to come into effect in June 2019, the company needs to increase prices to offset inflationary pressure and the impact the excise duty rate increase would have on the bottom line.
Nigerian Breweries Plc has assured stakeholders of a positive return on investment in 2019 despite a challenging operating environment for manufacturers.
The brewing giant made this known on Tuesday while briefing the media at its Pre-Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos.
The company said that the challenging operating environment continued into the first quarter of 2019, similar to what was seen in 2018, but feels strong with its clear strategy to deliver good returns to all of its stakeholders.
The Federal Government has said it is reviewing excise duty rates on wines and spirits.
The review is coming nine months after President Muhammadu Buhari approved incremental tariff increase on alcohol and tobacco products.
According to a Tuesday report in Bloomberg, Paul Abechi, a spokesman for Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, said in emailed response to questions, without giving a time frame.
The National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending the proposed tariff hike on locally produced alcohol and tobacco products.
The union said that the suspension of the initial plan by the Federal Government to increase excise tariff by more than 500% on spirits, wines and tobacco products saved over 165,000 jobs.
The Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming February 16 Presidential election has denounced plans by the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to increase the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) as well as Excise duty rates on goods and services being used by Nigerians.
The Party and its campaign say such a plan is cruel, anti-people and further exposes President Buhari as uncaring and insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, who are already overburdened and groaning under the economic hardship occasioned by his harsh policies and incompetence in office.
The Federal Government has unveiled its Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) for sustainable revenue generation in various sectors of the economy, part of which is to increase Excise Duty rates on certain goods as well as Value Added Tax (VAT) from the current 5%.
Speaking in Abuja while launching the SRGI, Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said the implementation of the initiative would significantly boost the federal government revenue outlook in the months and years ahead.
Stakeholders in the alcohol beverage industry on Monday declared their opposition to the recent 500% increase in excise duty rates on alcohol by the Federal Government.
The stakeholders, which includes the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), and the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers of Nigeria (AFBTE) expressed their displeasure over the rate hike to a Senate Committee on Finance at a public hearing on the matter.
The Federal Government will review the recent excise duty increase on locally produced alcohol, according to Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour.
In a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press, Samuel Olowokere on Friday in Abuja, while receiving members of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Joint Employers and Workers Association on a Save Our Soul (SOS) mission, the minister said the Federal Government will review the newly introduced 500% excise duty on locally produced alcohol beverages.
Alcohol manufacturers in the country are set to raise prices on their goods following the increase in excise duty by the Federal Government on the product which came into effect on Monday June 4, 2018.
According to a report on Friday by the Punch Newspaper, manufacturers said their price increase will take effect immediately and in tandem with the new excise duty regime ushered in by the government.
