President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday sent an Executive Bill to the Senate to amend aspects of the recently assented Finance Act, 2019.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan read the President’s letter on the floor of the Upper Chamber.
The letter, titled: “Transmission of the Finance Act, 2019 (Amendment) Bill for Consideration and Passage into Law”, reads: “Pursuant to sections 58 and 59 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I formally request that the Finance Act, 2019 (Amendment) Bill be considered by the Senate for passage into law.
“This Bill seeks to amend the Finance Act, 2019, as recently passed by the National Assembly, by clarifying:
“That the administrative effective date for the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) from five per cent to 7.5 per cent is February 1, 2020.
“That ‘Animal Feeds’ are included in the list of basic food items that are exempt from the VAT; and
“Aspects of the tax holiday incentive for agriculture, by targeting this incentive to small and medium sized companies that invest in primary crop, livestock, forestry and fishing agricultural production.
“This incentive is also to be administered by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) pursuant to the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act.
“I trust that this Bil will be favourably considered for passage into law by the National Assembly so as to support the implementation of the 2020 Federal Budget.”
