Beverages cost skyrockets as FG implements N10 per litre sugar tax

In its bid to combat non-communicable diseases, the Federal Government has commenced the implementation of the N10 per litre sugar tax on carbonated drinks and beverages.

Chief Superintendent of Customs, Department of Excise, Free Trade Zone, and Industrial Incentives, Dennis Ituma made this known while speaking at a Policy Breakfast meeting in Abuja last week.

The event was organised by the National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) to look into the introduction and implementation of tax and other interventions to reduce the consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) in Nigeria.

Ituma said the policy was implemented on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. The N10 per litre sugar tax was introduced in the Finance Act which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 31, 2021, alongside the 2022 Appropriation Bill.

Ituma said, “The N10 per litre of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages has been implemented on June 1, by July 21, all excise duties must have been collected and paid into the federation account.

“It should interest you that taxation on SSBs was a policy of the Federal Government in 1984 but was stopped in January 2009.

“Previously both SSBs, alcoholic drinks and tobacco were all taxed until 2009 when SSBs was removed from taxable beverages.

“Only alcoholic drinks and tobacco generates N414 billion, SSBs will further increase the revenue generated from drinks.”

The FG is bent on the implementation of the tax despite pleas by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and some related stakeholders.