OPS seeks President’s help to stop beverage levy bill

By Yinka Kolawole

The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), has called for President Bola Tinubu’s intervention to halt the passage of the proposed Customs, Excise and Tariff Amendment (CETA) Bill currently before the National Assembly which seeks to introduce a percentage levy per litre of the retail price on non-alcoholic beverages.

The members of OPSN include Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), and the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME).

The group urged the Federal Government to engage with the leadership of the National Assembly to stop the ongoing legislative process with a view to stepping down the CETA Bill, thus allowing the executive-led fiscal reforms to be fully integrated and aligned. 

According to the group, this approach would strengthen policy coherence, enhance predictability, and improve the effectiveness of the nation’s excise framework. it stressed that halting the bill will encourage structured, evidence-based engagement with industry stakeholders, thereby ensuring that any future measures will effectively balance revenue generation, public health objectives, and economic sustainability.

“While we fully support well-designed fiscal reforms and evidence-based public health interventions, we are concerned that the bill, in its current form, raises significant social, economic, administrative, and legal issues that could undermine the government’s broader fiscal reform objectives,” it stated.

The group further noted that the proposed levy would constitute a regressive measure, reducing consumer purchasing power without providing viable alternatives or meaningful public health support.

Commenting on the impact of such a levy on industry stability, investment, and employment, the group stated that the sector was already under severe pressure from exchange rate adjustments, high energy costs, and rising prices of imported inputs, packaging materials, and machinery.

“An additional excise burden would further increase production costs, reduce capacity utilisation, delay or cancel planned investments, and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of small distributors, retailers, and informal traders who depend on high-volume, low-margin sales,” it stated.