N10 excise duty on soft drinks will lead to production cuts, loss of jobs – LCCI

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said on Friday the Federal Government’s decision to enforce excise duty of N10 per litre on all non-alcoholic drinks would trigger a competitive disadvantage in the industry.

The LCCI Director-General, Chinyere Almona, who stated this in a statement, stressed that the newly introduced levy would affect domestic producers if the ban on importation of drinks and other measures are not enforced.

She said the excise duty would lead to production cuts and loss of jobs.

Almona said: “The prohibition on imported drinks should be better enforced to protect domestic production from unfair competition in the face of the high cost of production in Nigeria.”

“The immediate concerns are the likely increase in prices which may lead to a decrease in demand and, consequently, loss of jobs due to a reduction in production activities.”

READ ALSO: LCCI expects improved economic growth performance in Q2, Q3

The LCCI chief, who said the soft drink makers would be forced to comply with the policy if President Muhammadu Buhari refused to reverse it, decried the federal government’s revenue drive in the country.

She added: “The chamber is also concerned about the government’s stance on the enforcement of revenue targets on government-owned enterprises.

“The operations of these Government-Owned Enterprises should not build up into a hostile business environment where the private sector will find it challenging to thrive.”

LCCI chief urged the government to increase its budgetary allocation to the health sector from N463 billion to at least N1trillion in the next 10 years.

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