LAGOS – The Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), has reiterated the use of fiscal stimulus to cushion the burdens unleashed through what it called the tight monetary stance of the current administration in the past 18 months, instead of and non-cash interventions.
Dr Chinyere Almona, its Director-General, in a statement, acknowledged the significant step towards alleviating the burden on businesses and households by the removal of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on diesel and cooking gas.
She noted that this well-considered move will provide immediate relief, especially as these commodities are essential to daily life and economic activities.
According to her, implementing the Value Added Tax Modification Order 2024 and Notice of Tax Incentives for Deep Offshore Oil & Gas production are significant fiscal incentives that can revitalize the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Advertisement
She said: “For too long, the high cost of diesel has weighed heavily on the manufacturing sector, logistics, and transportation, while cooking gas, a cleaner and healthier alternative for households, has been made less affordable by VAT impositions.”
This policy, she said, will lower the operational costs for industries, reduce the overall cost of living for Nigerians, and increase home access to clean energy.
She said the successful transition to CNG mobility requires all the possible incentives to speed up the deployment adding that the tax reliefs for deep offshore oil and gas production could boost oil and gas sector investments.
Almona said the business community is upbeat about the government’s efforts towards transitioning to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternative fuel for mobility.
In her recommendation on the transition, she stressed the need to ensure that the shift to CNG mobility is smooth, efficient, and impactful in reducing costs for the Nigerian people.
To achieve the desired widespread adoption of CNG, she said it is critical to establish and expand the infrastructure for CNG refuellingstations across the country as access to refuelling points is limited, creating a barrier to adoption.
