The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that plans to significantly increase excise duties on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) could threaten a sector responsible for about 33 per cent of the nation’s manufacturing output and over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs.

In a statement on Tuesday, Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, speaking on behalf of operators in the Non-Alcoholic Drinks (NAD) sector, urged the Federal Government to adopt a balanced, evidence-based and coordinated approach to excise taxation.
The warning follows proposals contained in the Customs and Excise Tariff etc. (Consolidation) Act Amendment (CETA) Bill 2025, which seeks to replace the current specific excise rate of N10 per litre on sugar-sweetened beverages with a percentage levy based on retail prices.

Ajayi-Kadir said the proposed measure, if implemented, could undermine industrial growth, job creation, investor confidence and broader macroeconomic stability.

According to him, the non-alcoholic drinks industry remains one of the most resilient segments of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, supporting extensive value chains across production, logistics, agriculture, retail and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“The sector currently accounts for approximately 33 per cent of manufacturing output and sustains over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. Any fiscal policy that significantly increases the tax burden on the industry will have far-reaching consequences across the economy,” he said.
Ajayi-Kadir noted that manufacturers in the sector already remit between 40 and 45 per cent of their gross revenues in taxes, placing them close to the upper limit of sustainable taxation.

While acknowledging government efforts to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs), he argued that policy interventions should reflect Nigeria’s consumption realities and be guided by empirical evidence.

He stated that Nigeria’s annual per capita sugar consumption stands at about 7.1 kilogrammes, which is within levels recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), adding that beverages account for only a small proportion of overall sugar intake.
“There is no conclusive empirical evidence identifying sugar-sweetened beverages as the primary driver of non-communicable diseases in Nigeria, which are widely recognised as being influenced by multiple factors, including genetics, lifestyle, environment and broader dietary habits,” he said.

The MAN DG further expressed concern that the proposed amendment could conflict with the recently introduced Fiscal Policy Measures (FPM) 2026–2028 framework, creating uncertainty for investors and weakening medium-term industrial initiatives such as the Nigeria First Policy and the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP II).

He also argued that introducing a retail price-based excise system alongside the existing per-litre charge would create legal, administrative and enforcement challenges, given that Nigeria’s current excise framework is based on ex-factory or ex-warehouse pricing.

Ajayi-Kadir urged the government to pursue a coherent and predictable excise regime that supports revenue generation and public health objectives without jeopardising industrial growth, employment and economic stability.

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The currency fell by about 6 percent around 1615 GMT, to $59.7709, before paring its losses slightly.

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AFP

The EU slapped a 200-million-euro ($232 million) fine on Chinese-owned online retailer Temu on Thursday for allowing the sale of illegal products, including dangerous baby toys and defective chargers.

“The company failed to diligently identify, analyse, and assess the systemic risks of illegal products being offered on its platform and the resulting harm to consumers in the European Union,” the EU said.

According to EU regulators, European consumers are “very likely to encounter illegal items” on Temu, and the company “seriously underestimated how often EU consumers are likely to” see such products.

Temu is extremely popular in the European Union, with 130 million users after entering the bloc’s market in 2023.

But it has come under fierce scrutiny since October 2024 when the EU opened its investigation, which preliminarily found in July last year that Temu had breached landmark rules over the risks of illegal products.

“Temu is a very big player in the European market,” EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen told reporters, adding that its size meant that a “very big part” of EU consumers get their hands on such illegal products.

Thursday’s fine is only the second imposed under the EU’s powerful Digital Services Act (DSA) on content, after Elon Musk’s X platform received a 120-million-euro fine in December.

Under the DSA, the world’s most popular digital platforms including social media apps and online retailers must conduct a risk assessment to understand what dangers they pose and how to tackle the risks.

The EU slammed Temu for its 2024 risk assessment that it said “falls short of the standards”, citing the discovery of baby toys, such as rattles, containing chemicals that exceeded legal safety limits, and chargers that failed basic safety tests. It also pointed to jewellery.

The European Commission said Temu failed to properly assess the platform’s design and how it “could amplify dissemination risks of illegal products”.

– EU focus on China –

The DSA is part of the EU’s bolstered legal armoury to curb what the bloc considers excesses by Big Tech, and fines can go as high as six percent of a company’s total worldwide annual turnover.

While the EU could have hit Temu with a higher fine, a European Commission official said the amount was proportionate to the breach since it concerned a risk assessment for one year where the conclusions were “clear-cut”.

Temu must now pay the fine and present a plan to the EU by August 28 that includes what action it will take to address the breaches.

If Temu does not comply, it faces periodic penalty payments.

It can also appeal the fine, as Musk has already done in the EU courts.

The EU continues to investigate other suspected breaches in the same probe including the use of addictive design features that could hurt users’ physical and mental well-being, and how Temu’s systems recommend content and products.

The fine comes a day before the EU executive is set to debate how the 27-nation bloc should approach China to level the playing field, with top EU officials warning that Europe must get tougher on China to defend its economy.

Brussels has already stepped up its anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese companies investing in Europe, and on Thursday it opened an in-depth probe into Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com’s bid for Ceconomy, a major German electronics retail group, on suspicion it was boosted by state subsidies.