Nigerian govt announces temporary removal of VAT on diesel

By ABUBAKAR YUNUSA

The Nigerian government announced, on Sunday, the waiver of Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel for the next six months to address the impact of petroleum subsidy removal in the country.
The waiver is part of the resolution reached during the meeting between the labour unions and the government delegation, information minister Mohammed Idris said in a late Sunday statement.
The meeting was held a few hours after Mr Tinubu addressed Nigerians on the occasion of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Anniversary.
“VAT on diesel will be waived for the next six months,” Mr Idris wrote.
VAT is a consumption tax which is administered by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
It was introduced in Nigeria with the enactment of VAT Act No. 102 of 1993, which replaced the Sales Tax, which had been in operation since 1986 by the Federal Government Decree No. 7 of 1986.
VAT was, 13 January 2020, revised from five per cent to 7.5 per cent after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Act 2020 into law.
The Nigerian government in June confirmed that it had commenced the implementation of the payment of 7.5 per cent VAT on Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) also known as diesel.
On 9 August, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele said VAT should be suspended on diesel.
Mr Oyedele who disclosed this while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily breakfast programme said the VAT suspension will help cushion the harsh economic effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
“Personally, for example, this is not promising that it would be done. I think that we should suspend VAT on diesel because we removed fuel subsidy on petrol and prices are going up.
“We are going to table it before the committee. These are the things we want to do in the first 30 days,” Mr Oyedele said at the time.
The labour unions are scheduled to commence strike on Tuesday (3 October) to protest the hardship caused by the removal of subsidy on petrol. However, it is uncertain whether they will proceed with the strike or suspend it.
Mr Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol on 29 May during his inauguration as president. Since then, the price of petrol has increased by about 200 per cent across Nigeria and has led to an increase in the prices of goods and services.