Telecommunication consumers under the aegis of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers have dragged the Federal Government to court over its plan to implement a five per cent excise duty on telecom services.
The National President, NATCOMS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, revealed that the suit is against the imposition and implementation of excise duty and the continued imposition and implementation of Value Added Tax on telecom services.
Confirming the development to the press, Ogunbanjo said, “There are too many taxes on telecom service. Putting too many taxes on it is not fair. When you buy airtime, you pay VAT. Why are we still paying VAT for the services.”
A part of the suit read, “A declaration that the imposition and implementation of Value Added Tax on telecommunication services, as taxable services by Section 2 of the VAT ACT as amended, by the 7th – 9th Defendants and the imposition and implementation of Excise Duty on telecommunication services by Section 21(2) of the Excise Act as amended by Section 37 of the Finance ACT, by the 7th – 10th Defendants amount to double taxation on the plaintiff’s members, who are telecommunication services consumers or subscribers in Nigeria, and therefore unconstitutional, illegal, unfair and null and void.”
