By Okwy lroegbu-Chikezie
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed worry over the Nigerian Postal Service’s Bill 2021 passed by the Senate, noting that the passage is replete with provisions that are detrimental to private sector investment in the courier industry.
Speaking at the quarterly press conference on the state of the nation, the president of LCCI, Toki Mabogunje expressed concerns about the bill.
According to her, some of the clauses on the bill include but not limited to requirement for licensees to contribute 2 per cent of annual turnover – Section 68 (2) (b); Section 68 (2) (b) of the Bill requires licensees to contribute 2 per cent of their annual turnover to the Universal Postal Service (UPS) fund, stressing that this provision is most unfair to courier companies, many of which are struggling to survive.
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“Turnover would include companies’ debts (some of which the courier companies may not be able to collect). Our concerns besides, these companies currently pay numerous taxes which include Company Income Tax, VAT, levies by various states of the federation, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and airport charges, throughput charges by FAAN pension funds and NSITF, NHF, local government charges, signage fees of various states, etc.). The industry is currently beset with a variety of taxes at national and sub national levels,” she said.
“We note that investor confidence in the economy had been weak before the Covid-19 outbreak, and many investors still see Nigeria as a risky environment despite stronger oil prices and exit from recession. Confidence may not be restored in the near term if there is no significant improvement in the security environment,” she added.
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