The newly introduced $300 helicopter landing levy by helicopter companies providing shuttle services to oil and gas operators in Nigeria by the Federal Government has been described as an overtax.
They argue that they already pay all the statutory charges as stipulated by law and wondered why the $300 levy was introduced without any proof that the levy would improve service delivery.
The helicopter landing levy is imposed on helicopter landings at oil rigs and platforms through a consultant, NAEBI Dynamic Concept
The federal government in the last administration, through the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, introduced the levy, which airline operators, including oil companies, kicked against.
A memo emanating from the ministry had last year directed helicopter operators to compulsorily pay the helicopter landing fees at all Nigerian aerodromes, helipads, airstrips, floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, floating storage and offloading (FSO) units and other oil platforms.
However, the present Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, announced the temporary suspension of the levy in May 2024.
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He said further actions on the matter would be taken after a review committee submits its report for scrutiny.
However, exactly one year later, the federal government lifted the suspension, according to a recent circular signed by Akut D.S., General Manager, Air Traffic Control Operations, and the Nigerian Airspace Development Agency (NAMA).
While the federal government argued that the levy, is aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure and regulatory framework and designed to fund critical air navigation services provided by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), including radar surveillance, communication systems, and air traffic control services, operators argued that they already pay taxes for these services and the new levy is only an overtax.
Ado Sanusi, managing director and chief executive officer of Aero Contractors, said the $300 fee is not part of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) charges for cost recovery because operators must invest before costs are recovered in aviation.
“The investment you are going to make must provide some value to the customer. Let’s say I am investing in radios or I am investing in navigational aids; I will tell the customers I am investing in this, and over a period of five years, I want to recoup my investment. But in this one there is no investment.
“If they say there is an investment or the company says there is an investment, they should bring it out and let Nigerians see the investment they have made in either surveillance or in navigation or in communication. But you have not invested anything, and you just put a levy, and you are not a government organisation to say that you want to tax people.”
Roland Iyayi, a trustee of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), stated that before the new fee was introduced, the helicopter companies had been paying all their taxes in accordance with industry regulations, insisting that the additional $300 landing fee is a burden on the operators, which may undermine the industry.
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“When this matter came up during Hadi’s time (former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika), we shut it down because we felt the industry was overtaxed. Introducing something like this, we felt, was even going to be inimical to the growth of the industry. Again, if you ask all these individuals who are justifying the collection, they always say to you that the money is going to the government, but the money is leaving the aviation sector.
“In aviation, the money earned in aviation is meant to be used to develop aviation. But in Nigeria, the money is used for other purposes and not ploughed back to develop the industry.
With the new tax laws, the money earned will go to the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) before it is redistributed. Definitely things will get worse in the industry.”
He said what he finds intriguing about the charges is that NAEBI Dynamic Concept Limited is not providing any service at all by way of infrastructure.
“However, they would leverage NAMA’s infrastructure to charge $300 per landing. Helicopter operators most of the time use platforms belonging to their clients (oil and gas companies),” Iyayi noted.
