Through her public advocacy machinery, MAN has made giant strides in eliciting a friendlier business environment especially in the following areas:
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MAN-Government Relations;
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Monetary policies;
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Fiscal policies;
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International relations;
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Capacity building;
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Specific interventions on issues affecting members.
MAN has made significant achievements especially in the following areas:
1. FISCAL POLICY
Tariff reduction on major industrial raw materials, e.g.:
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Reversal of VAT from 10% to the previous 5%;
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Removal of excise duty re-introduced on some locally manufactured products;
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Reversal of the lifting of import prohibition on some products earlier prohibited from import;
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Tariff reduction on major industrial raw materials to 5%;
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Removal of VAT on industrial machinery;
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Removal of VAT on industrial machinery;
- Reduction of import duty on machinery and spare parts.
- Removal of import duty on some machinery e.g. CKD for motor assembly plants
- Abolition/reduction of excise duty on some products
- Favourable interpretation and implementation of the Withholding Tax Law in respect of manufacturing inputs and some services
- Removal of VAT on pharmaceutical raw materials and Educational materials/equipment
- Backward integration Policy for the cement and other sub-sectors.
- Establishment of Fast Track Clearing Procedures at the Ports for bonafide manufacturers
- Elimination of import controls especially during the import license regime
- In cooperation with the Joint Tax Board, MAN continues to advocate against the issue of multiple taxation through the promulgation by the Federal Government Decree 21 of 1998 which defined the taxing powers of the three tiers of government.
- Federal Government Executive Orders 003 on patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products with 40% participation rate for SMEs in all public procurement
2. MONETARY POLICY
- Reduction in, and adoption of a base mechanism for calculating Interest Rates
- Abolition of Dual Exchange rates
- Policy advocacy to establish a linkage between the maximum Bank lending interest rate and the Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) of the Central Bank of Nigeria
- Intervention in resolving the repayment of NERFUND and World Bank SME 1 & 11 loans for members
- Elimination of import license scheme
- The Special $20,000.00 quarterly Forex Allocation to SMEs for importation of vital raw-materials and machinery
3. GRANTS AND INCENTIVES: INCENTIVES GRANTED TO MANUFACTURERS THROUGH THE INITIATIVE OF MAN
MAN played a key role in ensuring Government‘s granting of the following concessions
- Granting of additional 30% tax relief to companies that incur expenditure on infrastructure or facilities of a public nature such as power (electricity), roads and bridges, water, health, education and sporting facilities
- Granting of Employment Tax Relief to companies with a minimum net employment of 10 employees of which 60 per cent are employees without any form of work experience within 3 years of graduation from school. Similarly, granting of Work Experience Acquisition Programme Relief to companies with a minimum net employment of 5 employees, retained for a minimum of 2 years
- The resuscitation of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) with very important modifications
- Approval by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) of 0.15mm as against the initial 0.2mm as the minimum standard gauge for galvanised roofing sheets to enable locally manufactured roofing sheets compete effectively with imports, as well as approval of SONCAP exemption permit and preferential treatment for local manufacturers.
- Resumption of payment of the backlog of unpaid Export Expansion Grant (EEG) due to exporters from 2006 to 2012
- Acceptance of MAN’s position that all Government concessions, waivers and tariff amendments, where considered necessary as a strategic economic tool, should have sector-wide applications as against individual companies’ application.
