By Rukayat Moisemhe
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended President Bola Tinubu on the signing of some executive orders aimed at addressing the looming threats on some sub-sectors in the manufacturer landscape of the country.
MAN Director General, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
NAN reports that President Bola Tinubu signed four executive orders in a bid to create a more conductive environment for businesses and investment to thrive.
The orders include deferring the commencement of the Finance Act 2023 to Sept. 1, that of the Excise Tariff Amendment Order to Aug. 1.
President Tinubu also ordered the suspension of excise tax on single use plastics, import tax adjustment tariffs on some vehicles and five per cent tax on telecommunications services and some locally made manufactured goods.
Ajayi-Kadir said the previous administration had revised upward the excise duty as contained in the 2023 fiscal policy measure without any impact assessment and adequate consultation with stakeholders in the manufacturing sector.
Some of the added tax burdens, he said, include the arbitrary introduction of a green tax and escalation of the excise duty on alcoholic beverages, wines and tobacco in violation of subsisting government approved roadmap.
These developments, he said, clearly contradicted government’s commitment to maintaining policy stability to boost investment and enhance business confidence in the manufacturing sector.
According to him, the association indicated that the policy was an additional burden too high to bear, due to struggles with low patronage, high borrowing cost and huge energy costs in a highly inflationary environment.
Ajayi-Kadir said the suspension of the obnoxious aspects of the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures was a welcome development and had removed a looming clog on its operations and productivity.
He stated that manufacturers in the affected sector were pleased and could now reconnect with their projections and plans made in the beginning of the year.
“So, the unwarranted and clearly disingenuous escalation of excise and introduction of new taxes in the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures had the potential impact of truncating the business projections of producers and assaulting the purchasing capability of the average Nigerian.
“It is, therefore, worthy of commendation that President Bola Tinubu took due and far-sighted notice and consideration of the concerns.
“In keeping with the trend of positive policy initiatives that we have seen with his administration, the four executive orders released have put paid to the anxieties of manufacturers in the affected sectors in particular and operators in the expansive value chain in general.
“We expect that the Customs Service will now stand down the requirements for compliance with the excise escalation and the registration for the green tax,” he said.
The MAN DG affirmed that going forward, the association would continue to value fruitful dialogue and engagement with the government, with a view to improving the manufacturing environment in particular and the economy in general.
“We look forward to further engagements that will give fillip to the new policy measures President Tinubu has enunciated, so that the challenges that would emerge could be effectively mitigated.
“For instance, one can see the possibility of inadequacy of foreign exchange and a lot of pragmatism is needed to ensure a massive inflow and strategic release,” he said.(NAN)
