…NECA Wins Court Case Against Customs Over Additional Tax
The Federal Government has advised Nigerians to brace for a fresh increase in electricity tariffs in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has secured a legal victory against the Federal Government’s plan to impose additional taxes on businesses.
Presidential Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Verheijen was attending a World Bank-backed conference, where Nigeria presented a $32 billion plan to expand electricity access by 2030. The initiative anticipates $15.5 billion in private investments, with the remainder funded by public sources, including the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Last year, the government approved a threefold increase in electricity tariffs for Band A customers. The upcoming tariff hike follows mounting pressure from debt-ridden electricity distribution companies, which have been pushing for cost-reflective pricing to stabilize their finances.
According to Verheijen, power prices in Nigeria need to increase by about two-thirds for many consumers to cover supply costs. She emphasized that while higher tariffs are necessary, subsidies must be in place to protect lower-income consumers. The additional revenue will help fund infrastructure maintenance, improve service reliability, and attract private investment into power generation and transmission.
In a separate development, NECA challenged a 2022 Federal Government circular proposing an excise duty on non-alcoholic, carbonated, and sweetened beverages. The association argued that the circular was invalid and unjustifiable. Defendants in the suit included the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Budget and National Planning.
After three years of legal proceedings, Justice O.A. Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissed the preliminary objection of the second defendant, ruling that the circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance was invalid and beyond its legal authority. The court also ruled that the Nigeria Customs Service had no right to demand transport and feeding allowances from NECA members.
Reacting to the judgment, NECA Director General Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde described it as a significant victory for organized businesses against arbitrary government policies and unwarranted tax burdens.
