By Ocheneyi Alli

The Nigerian government , today, announced the suspension of its green tax of 10 percent on Single Use Plastics (SUPs), including plastic containers and bottles.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, gave the directives to the Ministry of Finance, and the Customs authority, after he had signed four Executive Orders which includes the suspension of the 10 percent Single Use Plastics tax, five percent excise tax on telecommunication services; some imported vehicles as well as the excise duties escalation on locally manufactured products.

Also, President Tinubu shifted the commencement date of  Finance Act 2022 from May 23, 2023 to September 1, 2023.

He said that the suspension was to ensure adherence to the 90 days minimum advance notice for tax changes as contained in the 2017 National Tax Policy.
Ohibaba.com, reported that two months ago,  the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ( MAN) kicked against the surcharge of 10 percent on Single Use Plastic under HS Code 3919.10.00.00 and 3919.90.00.00 as well as Headings – 39.20; 39.21 and 39.23 (Plastic Containers, Films and Bags).

Otunba Francis Meshioye, President of MAN, said that the tax on Single Use Plastics was ill-timed and hasty in view of the fact that the government, through the Federal Ministry of Environment, is currently working towards instituting a Plastic Recycle Waste Management Policy with technical assistance from the United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO) along with support from the Japanese government.

” The project is to institute a long-term solution to manage the menace of plastic wastes and assist the affected industries to retrofit, thereby reaching the threshold of the United Nations goal of green environment as being espoused by the series of the UN organized Conference of Parties (COP),” he said .

Global Ban On Single Use Plastics
On the global scene, the OECD estimated that global plastic pollution could nearly triple to 1.0 billion metric tons by 2060.
And while they estimate that the share of plastic that escapes waste management systems will fall from 22% (2019) to 17% (2060), that’s still a lot of plastic to deal with. 

Also, the tide is turning against single-use plastics as many governments have  banned the it.
Bangladesh was the first country to ban plastic bags in 2002, while the U.S. banned microbeads in personal care products in 2015, followed by the UK (2018), Canada (2018), and then China (2020-2022).