Nigeria’s brewing industry has called on the Federal Government to suspend its planned rollout of tax stamps on excisable goods, warning that the move could disrupt production, raise operational costs, and worsen inflationary pressures.
Ahead of the Nigerian Economic Summit, Abiola Laseinde, Executive Director of the Beer Sectoral Group (BSG), stated that tax stamps—also known as track-and-trace—could be introduced. would be counterproductive to the current digital changes already transforming excise management in the nation, identifiers. She maintained that further layers of taxation were pointless given the openness and effectiveness of the current compliance mechanisms in the brewing industry.
Laseinde claims that on-site Customs monitoring, digital counters, and automated reporting systems already support tight excise rules governing beer manufacturing in Nigeria. She continued by stating that tax stamps wouldn’t fix problems of illegal trade because beer products are hard to duplicate owing their considerable weight and modest resale price.
The News Chronicle learned that the growing sector in Nigeria feels that the government ought to concentrate instead on stabilizing and reinforcing already in-house solutions, such as the Nigeria Customs. The e-invoicing platform of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the B’Odogwu Excise Reporting System (ERS) are both digital systems that help improve visibility, guarantee real-time tracking of production levels, and minimize revenue leaks without placing additional burdens on producers.
Introduced in October 2024, the B’Odogwu ERS has already brought in roughly N230 billion, therefore emphasizing its value as a digital excise management technique. Industry insiders contend that the success of this scheme shows Nigeria does not need to rely on foreign tax stamp providers, which could cause toward unneeded operational costs and capital flight.
Laseinde argued that using tax stamps would undo the developments made via digital innovation and burden producers even more, maybe causing greater consumer prices and weaker competition.
The beer sector reaffirmed its dedication to income creation through effective, transparent, and local-driven frameworks that strike a balance between governmental concerns and commercial sustainability as decision-makers get ready for significant economic meetings.
