Members of the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), have called on the government to intervene in their plight following the new tax regime recently announced by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.
The DIBAN members are of the view that the new regime will cripple their businesses and as such, they are not in support of the increased excise duty imposed on alcoholic beverages.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, June 6, following a peaceful protest, DIBAN Chairman, Patrick Anegbe, said the increased excise duty is contradictory to the ease of doing business executive order.
“We, the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), under the auspices of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reject the new astronomical hike in excise duty being selectively imposed on the domestic wines and spirits.
For the record, the new duty approved for implementation by the honourable minister of finance translates to an increase in duty from the current average of N30 per litre to N150 in the first year and N200 per litre subsequently.
This translates to an increase from the current average duty of N270 to N1,350 per case (carton) in the first year and N270 to N1,800 per case from the second year.
This is an increase of over 500% purely on local wines and spirits with the exclusion of all imported wines, spirits and champagne.”
Anegbe said the new excise duty will put 25,000 Nigerians who are direct employees in the sector at risk of losing their jobs and subject employees in industries like packaging industries, bottles, cartons, labels, cork, laminates, glue, ink, printing, laboratory, marketing, consulting, media at risk too.
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