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  • FEC Approves N14.88bn For Construction Of FIRS Office

    FEC Approves N14.88bn For Construction Of FIRS Office

    The Federal Executive Council has approved a contract for the construction of a new office block and parking lot worth over N14.88 billion for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House.

    Ogba told State House Correspondents that the Construction of the 12 storey building would save FIRS N4 billion annual rent and decongest traffic along Awolowo Road.

    The Council also approved the creation of a database of the National Capital Projects Information System of Government, to track the growing abandoned and uncompleted projects across the country, particularly in the last five years, which drains national funds.

    The National Capital Projects and Information System, which involves key infrastructure ministries, is to be headed by the Finance Minister to prioritize and fund selected projects on a yearly basis and possibly privatize some of the projects, repurposed some for alternative use, and completely abandon others (depending on the outcome of investigations) treating them as a sunk cost.

    Meanwhile, the Minister of Agriculture, Mohammad Abubakar, has stated that the government is working to decrease the inflation rate, primarily through subsidizing fertilizer, improving production, and preventing smuggling among other strategies.

    He again debunked claims that the nation would experience a food shortage in 2023.

  • Agba commends FIRS on 100% revenue collection in 2021

    Agba commends FIRS on 100% revenue collection in 2021

    By Joyce Remi-Babayeju

    Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, has commended the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) feat on a 100% in revenue collection in 2021.
    Agba said the revenue profile of the government had been seriously challenged in recent times due to multiple factors. 

    Agba gave this commendation on Thursday in Lagos at a management retreat organized by the FIRS with the theme: “Consolidating on the Gains of the FIRS Reforms: 2019 to Date”.

    Agba praised the service for achieving its revenue target for the year 2021, with over 100% revenue target and for crossing N6.405 trillion tax revenue threshold for the first time in the revenue history of the country, noting that the achievement is due to the fact that almost 70% of the collection came from non-oil sources.
      
    The minister also commended the Service for supporting the economic growth initiative of the government through innovations into tax administration which had boosted government revenues and enhanced ease of doing business in Nigeria.

    Agba noted that every sub sector of the national development such as security, infrastructure, social services, business-enabled environment, depends on the national budget and the ability of the government to provide these itself depended on available revenue. 
    ” In this context the task of improving Nigeria’s tax revenue collection and funding position is urgent and it is a task that must be done without fail.”
    “Recent happenings in the global economy is compelling nations to shift from dependence on resource wealth, particularly hydrocarbons to more innovative sources for revenue mobilization, he said.

    Agba also assured Nigerians that the federal government had put in place the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) and the annual Finance Act to mobilize domestic funds necessary for human capital and infrastructure development as drivers and enablers of sustainable economic growth and development.

    The minister noted that within the SRGI initiative, FIRS was saddled with some deliverables which include (i) Improving Tax Collections, (ii) Closing Legal Loopholes, (iii) Broadening the Tax Base, (iv) Expanding and Improving VAT, (v) Improving Tax Compliance, (vi) Aligning Stakeholders on a Single Purpose, etc.

    According to him, the Plan seeks to invest massively in infrastructure, ensure macroeconomic stability, enhance the investment environment and improve on social indicators and living conditions of the people.

    “Specifically, the Plan aims to generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift about 35 million people out of poverty by 2025 thus setting the stage for achieving the president’s commitment of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.”

    Agba expressed believed that the country could achieve these targets through an inclusive economic growth and development; leveraging its young workforce, enhancing implementation capacity at national and subnational levels and sustaining the growth of MSMEs.

    Meanwhile he emphasized that the financing of the NDP is dependent heavily on domestic resource mobilization, especially from non-oil revenue sources. 

    He reminded Nigerians that the development of the country was a sacred and civic responsibility of everyone. 
    Like Oliver Twist, Nigerians were asking that “you do more; the government is asking that you do more, and I am asking that you do more,” adding  “I assure you of the government’s unflinching support as you make taxation the mainstay of government’s funding, Agba said.

  • FIRS Staff Hacked To Death In Lagos

    FIRS Staff Hacked To Death In Lagos

    Gunmen at the weekend hacked to death a senior staff of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) identified as Mrs Ibironke Oluremi Adefila.

    The deceased was said to have been killed by assailants suspected to be assassins in Ikorodu area of Lagos.

    It was learnt that the deceased was trailed while she was on her way to work in the early hours of Friday, January 28, 2022.

    A source said the assailants killed the victim opposite Awalu Group of Schools, Powerline Area in Laketu, Ikorodu.

    The deceased was said to have died before she could get to the hospital.

    The police said the deceased’s record at the hospital where she was taken to by some passersby showed that she was brought to the hospital already dead.

    Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Adekunle Ajisebutu, who confirmed the incident, said homicide detectives are currently on the trail of the killers.

    He said the state Commissioner of Police had ordered that the case be transferred to the homicide unit of the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

    He, however, assured the family of the deceased that the killers would be brought to book.

  • FIRS Generates Record N6.4trn Revenue In 2021

    FIRS Generates Record N6.4trn Revenue In 2021

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has generated a record N6.4 trillion as revenue in 2021, the highest in its history.

    This year’s revenue collection exceeded that of 2019 when the agency raked in N5.3 trillion under the administration of Babatunde Fowler.

    Spokesman to FIRS Chairman, Oluwatobi Wojuola, who disclosed this via a statement issued on Thursday said that despite the limitations faced in 2020 and 2021, the service achieved over 100 percent of its collection target.

    “The FIRS, in the year 2021 collected a total of N6.405 trillion in both oil (N2.008 trillion) and non-oil (N4.396 trillion) revenues as against a target of N6.401 trillion,” Nami said.

    “Companies Income Tax amounted to N1.896 trillion; Petroleum Profits Tax amounted to N2 trillion; Value Added Tax amounted to N2.07 trillion; Electronic Money Transfer Levy amounted to N114 billion; Earmarked Taxes amounted to N208.8 billion; among others.

    “Non-oil sector contributed 69 percent of the total collection in the year, while oil sector’s contribution was 31 percent of the total collection.

    “The Service issued certificates for the sum of N147.8 billion tax credit to private investors and NNPC for road infrastructure under the Road Infrastructure Development Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Scheme created by Executive Order No. 007 of 2019.”

    Wojuola stated that in line with the law, 2021 income tax revenue was a function of the outcome of business activities in 2020.

    “In that year, the country entered into a second economic recession within 5 years. The recession was occasioned by 5-months of lockdown caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

    “To compound the economic challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, business activities were disrupted by the End-SARS protests.”

  • MultiChoice heads to court as tribunal strikes out appeal over $342m VAT Dispute

    MultiChoice heads to court as tribunal strikes out appeal over $342m VAT Dispute

    The tax appeal tribunal (TAT) has struck out an appeal instituted by MultiChoice Africa B.V Holdings where it challenged the assessment of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over unpaid value-added tax (VAT) amounting to $342 million.

    MultiChoice Africa is the parent company of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, owner of DStv and Gotv.

    The VAT allegation is different from the ‘tax evasion’ dispute against MultiChoice Nigeria Limited — which is still at the Lagos tribunal.

    Mohammed Nami, FIRS chairman, had alleged that MultiChoice Africa, which provides services to its Nigerian arm, has never paid VAT.

    Nami had put the figure at $342.5 million.

    “Information currently at the disposal of FIRS has revealed a tax liability for relevant years of assessment for N1.82 trillion and $342.5 million,” he had said.

    The tribunal, while delivering its judgment on Tuesday, upheld the preliminary objection of the FIRS against the appeal of MultiChoice Africa.


    The judgment document sighted by TheCable, A.B Ahmed, chairman of the tribunal, said the appeal is incompetent since the appellant did not conform with the provisions of Order III, Rule 6 of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (Procedure) rules, 2021.

    The rule stipulates that an appellant is to deposit half of the assessed amount it is disputing before it can be heard on appeal.

    In addition to depositing the sum, the appellant is expected to file along with its appeal an affidavit verifying the payment which the company also failed to comply with.

    According to the tribunal, the sum is to be paid as a security for the hearing of any tax appeal.


    “For an appeal against the tax authority, the aggrieved person will pay 50% of the disputed amount into designated account by the Tribunal before hearing as security for prosecuting the appeal”.

    In a statement on Wednesday, MultChoice Africa rejected the ruling of the tribunal.

    The company said it would lodge an appeal against the ruling at the Federal High Court, adding that the TAT ruling was based on technicality rather than the merits of the case.

    “MAH respectfully disagrees with the ruling, which was based on a technicality rather than the merits of the case. Therefore, we will be lodging an appeal at the Federal High Court against the ruling,” the statement reads.


    “This tax appeal is a separate and distinct matter from the appeal launched by MultiChoice Nigeria (MCN), in which the TAT found in MCN’s favour last week, allowing it to proceed with that appeal.”

    The FIRS had served a notice of assessment of unpaid VAT to MultiChoice Africa on June 16, 2021, but the company challenged the assessment and filed an appeal at the tribunal.

    It, however, failed to make the required deposit as stipulated by the tribunal rules.

  • Multichoice loses legal battle on $342m tax to FIRS

    Multichoice loses legal battle on $342m tax to FIRS

    The long-drawn legal battle by the South African Company, Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V with the Nigerian government-owned Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) over the disputed $342m tax has been struck out.

    The Tax Appeal Tribunal on Tuesday struck out the appeal instituted by the company for want of diligent prosecution and ordered it to pay up the $342m tax assessment handed over to It by the FIRS.

    Multichoice Africa Holdings is the parent company of Multichoice Nigeria and has engaged FIRS in fierce legal fireworks to challenge the assessment of the FIRS on its unpaid Value Added Tax (VAT) amounting to over $123.7 million.

    The tribunal while delivering its judgment on the appeal filed by the company upheld the preliminary objection of the FIRS against the appeal of Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V.

    The Tribunal stated that the South African company did not comply with Order 3 Rule 6 of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2021, which requires that an appellant is to deposit half of the assessed amount it is disputing before it can be heard on appeal.

    In addition to depositing the sum, the appellant is required to file along with its appeal an affidavit verifying the payment which the company also failed to comply with.

    According to the Tribunal, the sum is to be paid as a security for the hearing of any tax appeal. The rule states that “for an appeal against the tax authority, the aggrieved person will pay 50% of the disputed amount into designated account by the Tribunal before hearing as security for prosecuting the appeal”.

    FIRS had served a notice of unpaid VAT on Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V. but the company vehemently challenged the assessment and filed an appeal at the tribunal.

    It, however, failed to comply with provisions of tax laws by the refusal to make the required deposit as stipulated by the Tribunal Rules.

    With the ruling, the FIRS is expected to enforce the payment of the principal sum of $123.7 million being unpaid VAT by Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V. as well as interest and penalty at $218 million, totalling over $342 million.

    It will be recalled that the FIRS had served Multichoice Africa Holdings B.V. a notice of assessment of unpaid VAT on the 16th of June 2021.

    The company had consequently appealed the assessment at the Tax Appeal Tribunal on the ground of being too excessive.

    Multichoice Africa Holdings, the parent company of Multichoice Nigeria, though, providing services to its Nigerian arm was said not to have paid Value Added Tax since inception.

  • FIRS mulls collection of road tax from hairdressers, carpenters

    FIRS mulls collection of road tax from hairdressers, carpenters

    Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), says the agency is proposing road infrastructure tax in Nigeria to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society.

    The informal sector has business activities that operate outside of government regulation and are largely unregistered. They include commercial bus drivers, artisans such as dressmakers, hairdressers, vulcanisers etc., mainly those in the low socio-economic strata, with low skills and poor education.

    In a statement signed by Johannes Wojuola, media aide to the FIRS chairman, Nami disclosed this on Thursday while receiving a delegation of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by Chris Isiguzo, the National President, in his office, in Abuja.

    According to the statement, Nami said the proposed road infrastructure tax to be administered by FIRS would provide the government with adequate funding for road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance.

    The statement added that the scheme would also provide the needed security for roads in the country.

    “The only way to make the informal sector contribute to building a modern society is by making them pay when they use the roads,” Nami said.

    “That is why we are proposing that government should consider introducing Road Infrastructure Tax in Nigeria.

    “In many jurisdictions, road users pay for the use of road infrastructure as such it shouldn’t be seen as an additional burden on our citizens because it has the potential of making life better for all of us.”

    Speaking further, Nami stated that the economy presently relies heavily on non-oil revenues to discharge its statutory responsibility of paying salaries and providing social amenities to the citizenry.

    “Without the tax that you pay, governments at all levels would not be able to fulfil their mandate to the electorates. Tax money also helps to ensure the roads you travel are safe and always in good condition,” he added.

    Nami also stated that despite sharp practices by some companies who were in the habit of evading taxes, by shifting their capital and profits to tax havens, as well as low revenue from Petroleum Profit Tax, due to the shortfall in crude oil production among other factors, the FIRS has been putting forward critical reforms that have been yielding positive impact on the Service’s operations.

    “Adopting technology in tax administration is crucial in improving domestic revenue mobilisation in view of dwindling oil prices in order to avoid falling into a debt crisis. It is against this backdrop that the TaxPro-Max became the channel for filing Naira-denominated tax returns effectively from 7th June 2021,” Nami said.

    “The TaxPro-Max enables seamless registration, filing of returns, payment of taxes and automatic credit of withholding tax as well as other credits to the Taxpayer’s accounts, among other features. The technology also provides a single-view to Taxpayers for all transactions with the Service.”

    Despite ongoing pending legal tussle on value-added tax (VAT) collection, Nami added that FIRS had created ten VAT regional coordination offices across the country to drive revenue collection.

    He said the FIRS collected N4.2 trillion between January and September 2021 as VAT following the “successful facilitation of ISO 27001:2013 Certification of the FIRS’ Exchange of Information Centre and the achievement of 114.66 percent of the VAT collection target in the first half of the year”.

    While congratulating Isiguzo for his recent reelection as the national president, he urged NUJ members to be constructive and “should always confirm or verify sources and accuracy of information”.

    Earlier, the NUJ national president said the visit of the union was part of his resolve to engage critical institutions as a stakeholder in charting a way forward for the country’s collective good.

    Isiguzo described FIRS as a vital institution in the country, which “requires all the support when the country is security-challenged, adversely affected by Covid-19 and faced with FOREX crisis as well as political intrigues from different parts of the nation”.

  • 2022 Budget: FIRS to spend N2.8bn on uniforms, N550m on meals

    2022 Budget: FIRS to spend N2.8bn on uniforms, N550m on meals

    The tax body has also budgeted about N550m for refreshments and N200m for sporting activities. The FIRS, which is one of the highest revenue generating government bodies, set aside N262.5m for security votes while N17.8bn would be spent on “miscellaneous” expenses.

    The details are included in the 2022 budget proposal the agency submitted separately to the National Assembly.

    Already, there are concerns over the cost of governance and the percentage of the annual budget that goes into recurrent expenditure.

    In the 2022 budget proposal the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), presented to the joint section of the National Assembly on October 7, a whopping N4.69tn out of the total N16.39tn budget was appropriated for personnel costs and pensions (inclusive of N617.72bn for the 63 GOEs). Also, the overhead cost would gulp N792.39bn (inclusive of N451.0 billion for the 63 GOEs).

    Owing to the nation’s scarce resources and low revenue, the Federal Government would spend N3.61tn on debt servicing while it would borrow an additional N6.25tn from domestic and external sources to fund the deficit in the budget.

    Meanwhile, the total budget of the FIRS stands at N228bn, surpassing the 2022 budget of the National Assembly (N134bn) and the judiciary (N120bn).

    The FIRS budget also surpasses the current 2021 budgets of Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states.

    Budgets N17.8bn for miscellaneous expenses
    In its 2022 budget proposal, the tax body earmarked N2.5bn for the purchase of land, N3bn for office furniture, N1.5bn for photocopying machines, N2.04bn for computers and N500m for the construction of sports facilities.

    The agency set aside N1bn for generator fuel and N250m for maintenance while a separate N550m was set aside for purchasing more generators.

    The FIRS will spend N6bn on its new headquarters and N2bn on the purchase of vehicles.

    It budgeted about N1.3bn for cleaning and fumigation of its offices nationwide while N1.4bn will be spent on general maintenance services.

    The FIRS budgeted about N1.3bn for office stationery and computer consumables while N3bn will be spent on printing non-security documents.

    The agency will spend N1.4bn on electricity charges, N460m on telephone charges and N1.3bn on security services.

    The FIRS will spend N7.9bn on donations and N200m as contributions to international organisations.

    The agency earmarked N800m for legal services, N1.04bn on bank charges, N9.5bn on welfare packages; N1.1bn on staff retreat and N2.9bn on repairs.

    The FIRS collects Value Added Tax, Company Income Tax, stamp duty, technology levy, Personal Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Nigeria Customs Service Import VAT, electronic money transfer and gas income.

    Currently, the FIRS is involved in a legal dispute with Rivers and Lagos states over the right authority to collect VAT.

    The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, had on September 10 ruled that Rivers State and not the FIRS should collect VAT and Personal Income Tax in the state.

    Until then, the FIRS was the agency collecting VAT across the country and after deducting its four per cent collection cost, it remitted the rest to the federation account for sharing among the three tiers of government.

    Following the ruling of the Federal High Court, the FIRS filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, and the court ordered all the parties to maintain status quo. It also granted the application for joinder by the Lagos State government. Rivers and Lagos states have enacted their VAT laws.

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has however transferred the matter to its division in Port Harcourt for further hearing.

    Meanwhile, the Rivers State Government has also approached the Supreme Court to set aside the Appeal Court’s ruling that parties should maintain status quo.

  • Only 41 Million People Pay Tax In Nigeria – FIRS

    Only 41 Million People Pay Tax In Nigeria – FIRS

    The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Muhammad Nami, has said that only 41 million pay taxes in Nigeria out of the over 200 million population in the country.

    Nami disclosed this at the ‘Public Presentation and Breakdown of the Highlights of the 2022 Appropriation Bill’ on Friday in Abuja.

    He explained that in spite of the 41 million taxpayers in the country, Nigeria still earned lower than what its counterparts across Africa generate from Personal Income Taxes (PIT).

    “If you also compare that with South Africa where they have a total population of about 60 million people, with just 4 million taxpayers, the total personal income tax paid in South Africa last year was about N13 trillion. You can now see that these things are not adding up.

    “The number of billionaires in Lagos alone are more than the number of billionaires in the whole of South Africa but yet what we generated as PIT by Lagos State was low.

    “So if we don’t pay these taxes, there is no way the government will be able to provide the social amenities required, the critical infrastructure required for the wellbeing of the country,” Nami said.

    He said that the total collection up to Sept. 31, which has not been fully reconciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Customs is about N4.2 trillion, from this amount, oil related taxes accounted for only 22 per cent which is N950 billion only, the non oil taxes generated was within that period is N3.3 trillion.

    “People are not willing to pay even when they are appointed as agent of collection, whatever they have collected they find it difficult to remit.

    “We assume that we are a rich country, I don’t think that is correct, we only have the potential to be rich, because we have a very huge population of about 200 million.

    “If you look at it from the rate of taxes paid in Saudi Arabia with a population of 10 million people, the VAT rate is as high as 15 per cent and what we have in Nigeria is just 7.5 per cent,” Nami said.

  • Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau States Move to Join FIRS in VAT Collection Tussle Suit

    Adamawa, Kaduna, Plateau States Move to Join FIRS in VAT Collection Tussle Suit

    Indications emerged over the weekend that Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau states had moved to align with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in its appeal against the judgement of a Federal High Court, which barred the agency from collecting Value Added Tax (VAT) in Rivers State. The move came few days after the Court of Appeal joined Lagos State as a respondent in the appeal.

    Justice Stephen Pam, of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had in the judgement delivered in August held that the right to collect VAT belonged to the state and not the federal agency.

    The judge, having so held, restrained the service from further collection of VAT in Rivers State and ordered the Rivers State government to assume the duty of VAT collection in Rivers State.

    Consequently, FIRS proceeded to the Court of Appeal for a reversal of the Federal High Court judgement.
    However, hearing in the appeal was delayed due to an application by Lagos State to be joined as a party to the suit.

    But when the case will resume this week, Adamawa, Kaduna and Plateau may likely come up with their individual applications seeking to be joined as parties in the suit.

    A reliable source close to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and governors of the three states, in Abuja, yesterday confirm that they would be filing a leave of the court to be joined in the suit on Tuesday.

    Although the AGF was already a defendant in the appeal, the source hinted that the Federal Ministry of Justice under the AGF had opted to be part of the appellant in the matter so as to enable it argue effectively in support of the FIRS.

    The source said, “They are going to seek to be joined in the suit as co-appellants against the Federal High Court’s judgement that favours Rivers State.

    “These states understand the possible consequences if the final judgrment at the Supreme Court goes against the FIRS. They are going to take the fight as if it is theirs.

    “In fact, their motion papers would be ready by October 4, and will be filed on Tuesday October 5. I can confirm that one to you.”
    The source also hinted that more states, including Kogi and Zamfara, were going to join the suit to form a coalition with the FIRS.