President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a one-year deferment of the 35 per cent import adjustment tax (levy) imposed on Fully Built Unit (FBU) electricity meters.
A statement from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said the HS Code 9028.30.00.00 tariff is under the 2019 fiscal policy measures for the implementation of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Common External Tariff (CET) 2017 – 2022 of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), approved in 2015.
The statement said the approval for the adjustment was on a request by Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, to support the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in rolling 3 million electricity meters, which is under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework.
“The 35 percent levy was imposed on the recommendation of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, to encourage local production, as well as protect investments in the local assembly of electricity meters,” Zainab said in the request.
The MAP regulation stipulates that a MAP firm must source a minimum of 30 percent of their contracted metering volumes from local meter manufacturers.
“However, the application of the 35 percent levy on electricity meters has created a significant challenge to the smooth implementation of MAP scheme of NERC,” the request stated.
It also noted that 6m electricity consumers have embraced the opportunities presented by MAP and signed off to pay for electricity meters at the regulated prices approved by NERC.