The stage is getting harder for tax defaulting companies in Nigeria. Going forward, any failure to regularise any lien placed on the accounts of companies in Nigeria by Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service, a body responsible for taxing companies in Nigeria, within 30 days of the FIRS notice, will result in the FIRS going after the directors, managers, secretaries and other persons concerned with the management of such companies in a bid to recover tax liabilities owed by the companies.
The FIRS said it is relying on sections 31, and 49(2)(a-d) of the FIRS Establishment Act to support its planned action
Take A Look At The Notice
Click here to view a list of the first set of companies to be affected.
”We Are Going After Everybody”
The Nigerian tax agency has recently explained that it is hustling hard to meet its N8 trillion revenue target for 2019.
The FIRS also seriously wants to increase Nigeria’s current tax population to 45 million. To do that, it would be relying on multiple information sources, Mr Fowler said. And that would include invading the country’s Bank Verification Number database and other related agencies with relevant information.
“We are going after everybody. I am sure you have heard that we have placed lien on some accounts of defaulters that have a billion naira turnover annually. So certainly, we are not leaving anyone out of the tax net,’’ he said.
Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (Nigeria ’s Tax Amnesty Programme was launched in 2017) Is Going After Companies.
The programme gave tax defaulters in Nigeria a one-year period of grace to declare and settle their unpaid taxes. This appears to be a hard time ahead for most companies in Nigeria.
Most taxpayers are insisting that the scheme was just designed to eliminate them from business. Mr. Fowler said “administrative error” should take the blame arising from the huge number of accounts involved.
“Well, there is certainly one or two instances where we made administrative error, but when you are looking at over 50,000 accounts. There is a tendency that sometimes an error might be made. For those that we made errors on, I wrote them personally apologising and of course we lifted the lien on their accounts,” he said.
Also See: These Businesses Are Currently Free From Tax In Nigeria
FIRS targets to generate between N750 billion and N1 trillion from the clampdown, which includes closure of defaulters’ bank accounts. So, it is either you obey the amnesty or you close down your business.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.