COVID-19: Reps propose bill to suspend import duties on medical items, protect jobs

The Nigerian House of Representatives, on Tuesday, passed the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill, 2020, which seeks to provide relief to organisation and individuals from the harsh economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many organisations across the country have shutdown business activities and instructed their employees to work remotely from home as confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria rose to 46 on Wednesday morning. The shutdown is expected to have negative effect on businesses and may likely lead to loss of jobs after the pandemic, and the lawmakers have proposed a bill to prevent this.

The bill, jointly sponsored by the principal officers of the House, including the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, was titled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide for Relief on Corporate Tax Liability, Suspension of Import Duty on Selected Goods and Deferral of Residential Mortgage Obligations to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria for Fixed Term to Protect Jobs and Alleviate the Financial Burden on Citizens in Response to the Economic Downturn Occasioned by the Outbreak of COVID–19 Disease.’

In barely two hours, the bill passed the first, second and third readings at the plenary on Tuesday. The bill also aims at protecting the employment status of Nigerians who might otherwise become unemployed as a consequence of management decision to retrench personnel in response to the shutdown of economic activities.

Gbajabiamila who led a debate on the bill said it primarily seeks to grant companies a rebate on Companies Income Tax to the value of 50 per cent of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) deductions so long as such companies maintain their PAYE rolls as at March 1, 2020, to June 2020. This will encourage companies to maintain their payroll status for the immediate term.