Prices for Coke and Fanta will rise when the FG implements an N10/liter excise charge on carbonated beverages.

Prices for Coke and Fanta will rise when the FG implements an N10/liter excise charge on carbonated beverages.

Prices for Coke and Fanta will rise when the FG implements an N10/liter excise charge on carbonated beverages.

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NewsRpeort gathered that all non-alcoholic, carbonated, and sweetened beverages now have an N10/litre excise levy imposed by the federal government.

Excise duty is a type of tax levied on commodities produced, licensed, and sold.

This was said by Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and national planning, at the public presentation of the 2022 Appropriation Act in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to her, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Act into law on December 31, 2021, which includes the new policy.

Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed announced in 2019 that the government may impose an excise levy on fizzy beverages.

In 2020, Hameed Ali, comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), had proposed the collection of excise duty on soft drinks.

He had also put forward the same proposal in 2021 at an interactive session on the 2022-2024 medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), organised by the house of representatives committee on finance.

Apart from the new ‘Sugar Tax’ in section 17, Ahmed said the 2021 finance Act also raised excise duties and revenues for the health sector.

The minister said the excise duty on soft drinks would discourage excessive consumption of sugary beverages which contributes to diabetes, obesity among others.

However, checks by TheCable showed that there are other sources of sugar intake, including alcoholic drinks, biscuits, buns, cakes, dairy products, and savoury food.

“There’s now an excise duty of N10/ per litre imposed on all non-alcoholic and sweetened beverages,” she said.

“And this is to discourage excessive consumption of sugar in beverages which contributes to a number of health conditions including diabetes and obesity.

“But also used to raise excise duties and revenues for health-related and other critical expenditures.

“This is in line also with the 2022 budget priorities.”