The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) has asked the National Assembly to exempt animal feed from the list of items that would attract payment of the Value Added Tax.

He stated this in a communication read on both chambers of the federal parliament by the presiding officers, Messrs Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday.

Buhari specifically asked the apex legislative institution to amend the recently approved Finance Bill 2019 to accommodate the exemption.

The letter read, “Pursuant to Sections 58 and 59 of Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria1 999 (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”

The bill clarified that the administrative effective date for the increase in Value Added Tax from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent was February 1, 2020.

Buhari drew the attention of the lawmakers to the fact Animal Feeds have been included in the list of basic food items that are exempted from VAT.

He also said that aspects of the existing tax holiday incentive for agriculture should be targeted at small and medium-sized companies.

Such firms should be those that invest in primary crop, livestock, forestry and fishing agricultural production.

He said the incentive would also be administered by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission pursuant to the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act.

Buhari said the amendment would help to support the implementation of the 2020 Federal Budget.

Credit: The Punch