Nigerians to pay more for cigarettes, alcohol from today

Consumers of alcoholic beverages and tobacco will from today (Monday) pay more for the products as the new excise duty rates approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in March come into effect. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, disclosed this in Abuja on SundayPunch reports.

She explained that the new excise duty rates were spread over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020 in order to moderate the impact on prices of the products. The minister had stated in March that the President had granted a grace period of 90 days to all manufacturers before the commencement of the new excise duty regime in that sector of the economy. The grace period ended on Sunday.

She noted that the upward review of the excise duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco was to achieve a dual benefit of raising the government’s fiscal revenues and reducing the health hazards associated with tobacco-related diseases and alcohol abuse.