Afrigather 
The governing company for knowledge and skills in Nigeria, the Nationwide Records Know-how Pattern Company (NITDA), is one more time attempting for to retain watch over the nation’s tech ecosystem, this time with a bill that repeals its regulatory Act and enacts a utterly unusual bill.
This week, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) notion to be the bill to repeal the Nationwide Records Know-how Pattern Company Act No. 28 of 2007, and salvage a unusual Nationwide Records Know-how Pattern Company Act.
This comes nearly a twelve months after NITDA Director Overall Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi first proposed amendments to its regulatory Act. The amendments in that proposal included provisions for unusual license categorisations, licensing costs, 1% income-sooner than-tax levies for companies with revenues greater than ₦100 million ($243,831), and penal advanced sentences for defaulting parties.
From August 2021 till date, no regulatory strides were made by the proposed amendment which has reportedly faced opposition from stakeholders including the Nigeria Bar Affiliation Share on Industry Regulation (NBA-SBL).
Now, the bill inches closer to becoming legislation as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) opinions the bill.
A summary of the bill
Unlike its 2007 predecessor which all in favour of telecoms and banks, the proposed reenactment, beneath its Interpretation Share, seeks to quilt tech companies including e-commerce platforms, “international digital providers and products focusing on the Nigerian market” adore Amazon and Netflix, and fintechs or “companies providing monetary providers and products using knowledge skills tools”.
Positively, the bill comprises some critical amendments that are vital to the model of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.
As an illustration, subsection (v) of Share 9, which lists the functions of NITDA, provides for the protection and rights of clients of the tech situation. In subsection (g) of Share 9, the bill also states that NITDA could be saddled with creating incentives that promote the tech ecosystem adore skills parks and startup initiatives, a obvious enhance to Nigeria’s billion-buck tech ecosystem.
Unfortunately, the bill also comprises several questionable provisions that can salvage more shatter to the ecosystem than the factual provisions can offer.
“The most problematic part deals with the introduction of the NITDA Fund,” stated Davidson Oturu, a partner at Aelex Correct with ride in tech and ICT legislation. Oturu, who spoke to TechCabal over a telephone name, also illustrious that “The provisions which could perchance be problematic, salvage more to injury the ecosystem than those ones which could perchance be similarly handsome.”
Share VI, Share 16, of the bill provides for the introduction of the NITDA Fund that could be outdated for the “model of digital financial system and linked functions”. The challenge isn’t any longer with the motive of the fund, but with the constitution of the fund. In subsection (a), the bill states that all companies with annual turnovers over ₦100 million ($240,000) could be required to pay an annual levy fee 1% of their income sooner than tax.
“The challenge with this,” Oturu illustrious, “is that companies with ₦100 million in turnovers haven’t necessarily broken even. Most of them are bootstrapping or fund-raising of their first few years, and whatever income they manufacture is critical to their survival. The levy also locations an hard burden on these startups, in particular while you occur to will grasp gotten in mind that startups already pay tax to other companies.”
Below the Companies Earnings Tax Act (CITA), Nigerian startups with over ₦25 million in turnover are area to a 20% tax paid to the Federal Inland Earnings Provider (FIRS). Companies with over ₦100 million must pay 30%. All registered companies also must pay an training tax fee 2.5% of their assessable income per twelve months.
The next tough provision lies in Share V, Share 15, where the bill authorises NITDA to construct permits and licenses for operators in Nigeria’s knowledge and skills sector.
The part is ambiguous as it doesn’t dispute the necessities for companies attempting for to salvage this enable, the length of the enable, or the enable rate. It’s also a repetitive provision because most of the companies the bill seeks to retain watch over are already registered with other companies.
To characteristic in the nation, tech companies must be licensed by the Company Affairs Fee (CAC), whereas fintechs must fabricate CAC licenses as successfully as licenses from the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN).
“Granting licenses for the roar employ of skills in society is restrictive, and controlling and could engender censorship,” says Victoria Manya, the govt.director at Advocacy for Coverage and Innovation (API), who spoke to TechCabal over a WhatsApp chat.
For companies and startups who fail to adhere to the bill’s provisions, the bill prescribes hefty sanctions of fining and imprisonment.
Share VII which lists out offences and penalties states that companies that characteristic without the aforementioned licenses are area to a ₦30 million handsome with every director or well-known of the company accountable for ₦3 million in fines every, and/or 2 years in penal advanced. The put a particular person performs the identical act, the particular person will must pay ₦3 million, and/or exercise no longer much less than 1 twelve months in penal advanced.
The bill also repeats the identical sanctions for companies/folks that yell NITDA access to its recordsdata or knowledge, companies/folks that don’t adhere to tips way by the Company, companies/folks that manufacture acts requiring prior approval from the Company, and companies/folks that manufacture acts where no “roar penalty is equipped”.
The bill’s preferrred crimson flag, in terms of penalties, lies in Share 25(1) where the bill penalises non-rate of levies for the NITDA Fund. The put companies fail to pay the 1% levy, the Company could be empowered to encourage them a seek with a handsome constituting 2% of the unpaid levy. The put the company refuses to pay the levy within 2 months after the awareness, the company could be at likelihood of pay 0.5% of the payable quantity per day.
“The provision in part 25 has also made NITDA a resolve in its possess direction,” stated Manya. “The put will we originate to note the inducement in the wait on of criminalizing an already unjust assert.”
Incompatible with the Nigeria Startup Invoice
The FEC’s consideration of the bill comes in the identical week the Dwelling of Representatives authorized the Nigeria Startup Invoice (NSB) a lauded regulatory bill created by the Nigerian presidency in collaboration with NITDA and stakeholders of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.
“The NSB used to be created to retain a ways flung from bills adore NITDA’s. It’s also moderately incompatible with the NITDA bill,” Oturu illustrious.
The NSB has provisions for tax breaks for unusual startups however the NITDA bill is all in favour of taxing startups. The NSB also provides tax incentives for international carrier providers whereas NITDA’s does no longer. The put the NSB clearly delineates necessities for registration and licensing or labelling of startups, the NITDA bill most attention-grabbing states a requirement for licensing but fails to give any critical parts about licensing.
Speaking further on the bill, Oturu stated, “This bill also shines a unfavorable gentle on NITDA and the work they’ve performed with the Nigeria Startup Invoice. NITDA is presupposed to be an entity that interacts with and fosters startup, but this bill portrays it as an MDA attempting for to criminalise every little thing.”
To Manya, the unusual bill presentations that NITDA has moved quick from its normal grand-wanted mandate to allow digitalisation via strategic provisions in Nigeria to becoming a tax and levying company. “The bill concentrates too grand on regulating to punish, in location of regulating to allow. It desires to legitimise draconian practices with merely provisions to wait on them up, “ she stated.
What Nigerian techpreneurs can salvage
The bill mild has a protracted manner to transfer sooner than it turns into legislation. It’s most attention-grabbing been merely notion to be by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), it has no longer yet been authorized.
“There’s ample time for techpreneurs to get rid of their voices,” Oturu instructed. “Techpreneurs can prepare a location paper and share it with the Ministry of Justice. And if that doesn’t work, the Nationwide Assembly, at the Committee Stage, will demand stakeholders to send of their memorandum and suppose their concerns at a public listening to. The largest thing to salvage factual now could perchance be to discuss up and suppose concerns.”
Change (July 30, 2022, 15: 50 PM): An earlier version of this fable stated that the FEC has authorized the NITDA bill. TechCabal has now confirmed that the FEC most attention-grabbing notion to be but did no longer approve the bill.
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