Breaking Down Nigeria’s Cybersecurity Tax: Five Crucial Details You Should Be Aware Of

Breaking Down Nigeria’s Cybersecurity Tax: Five Crucial Details You Should Be Aware Of

The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a directive for banks and financial institutions to begin imposing a cybersecurity levy on all banking transactions, as reported by PUNCH Online. The levy, set at 0.5%, is in accordance with the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund. Here are key points about this levy:

1. The levy amounts to 0.5% of the value of electronic transactions, as stipulated by the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024.
2. Financial institutions will deduct the levy from the originator of electronic transactions and label it as “Cybersecurity Levy” in the customer’s account.
3. The collected levy will be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund, overseen by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
4. Deductions are set to begin within two weeks of the circular’s issuance, with financial institutions required to remit the levies to the NCF account at the CBN by the fifth business day of the following month.
5. Failure to comply with levy remittance may result in penalties, including fines of up to 2% of the financial institution’s annual turnover.

It’s imperative for financial institutions to update their systems to facilitate levy deduction and remittance. The enforcement of this levy underscores the government’s commitment to bolstering cybersecurity measures in Nigeria.

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