Tax Policy: NEZA supports 10-yr transition for free zone operators

The Nigeria Economic Zones Association (NEZA) has supported calls for a 10-year transition period before the implementation of the National Tax Policy within Nigeria’s Free Zones.

Mr Isaac Elegbede, NEZA’s Executive Secretary, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Elegbede commended the Managing Directors of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) for advocating a moratorium, describing the move as timely and strategic.

The executive secretary, however, warned that an abrupt rollout could undermine investor confidence.

He said the position of the association aligned with concerns it had earlier raised in September in a press release.

Elegbede said that the absence of a well-defined transitional framework could trigger capital flight and discourage new investments into the Free Zone scheme.

He said a decade-long transition would provide room for policy harmonisation, sustained engagement with investors, regulatory clarity and the development of a globally competitive incentives framework suited to zone-based enterprises.

The NEZA boss urged NEPZA and OGFZA to sustain their collaborative advocacy to preserve the integrity of the Free Zone programme, stressing that stability and predictability were critical to its long-term success.

Elegbede, then, reaffirmed NEZA’s readiness to work with relevant government authorities to ensure that tax reforms strengthen, rather than weaken the competitiveness and sustainability of Nigeria’s Free Zones

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