>
President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2020 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday based on 7.5% Value Added Tax(VAT).
Recall that the government recently increased VAT from 5 percent to 7.5 per cent and the 2020 budget was estimated to be partly based on the revenue to be generated from the increased VAT.
However, while telling lawmakers about the highlights of the bill which was presented along with an executive bill, the Finance Bill 2019, the president said that there were certain exemptions to the VAT regime.
“The VAT Act already exempts pharmaceuticals, educational items, and basic commodities, which exemptions we are expanding under the Finance Bill, 2019,” he said.
He said that section 46 of the Finance Bill, 2019 expanded and exempted the following food items from the proposed VAT regime:
1. Brown and white bread
- Cereals including maize, rice,
wheat, millet, barley and sorghum
3. Fish of all kinds
4. Flour and starch meals
5. Fruits, nuts, pulses and vegetables
of various kinds
6. Roots such as yam, cocoyam, sweet
and Irish potatoes
7. Meat and poultry products
including eggs
8. Milk
9. Salt and herbs of various kinds
- Natural water and table water.