Economic Meltdown: FIRS urges banks, telcos, e-commerce to pay taxes during lockdown

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By Francis Ogwo

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has urged a section of tax payers whose businesses are not affected by the economic crisis to pay their taxes.

This was contained in a release issued recently to announce the plans of the agency as related to taxation and payments.

Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami, appealed to Telecommunication Companies, Financial Institutions, e-commerce, supermarkets, manufacturers and processors who according to him are still experiencing boom despite the lockdown to cooperate through the payments of their taxes.

He was of the view that they could start the payments of their annual returns earlier than the due date.

According to him, this would help in filling the cash challenges the government us facing at this time of economic lows.

The FIRS which is Nigeria’s apex revenue and tax collecting agency also set up measures needful to adjust to the current situation which include that tax payers who use user friendly e-filing should submit their documents online.

He also added that the Late Revenue Penalty (LRP) has been waived for early payments while filing could be made later.

The agency had before the lockdown, ensured that Value Added Taxes(VAT) are paid on or before 21st of the month. This, the FIRS boss says is now extended to the last day of the month.

Also added in the release was that tax payers who encounter difficulty paying in foreign currency could now pay in Naira on the Investors & Exporters (I & E) window rate on the day of payment.

The routine visits of FIRS officials for investigations and field audits, many would agree, has to be halted due to the sit-at-home order. On this, the service says the routine is suspended till further notice while instructing that returns for foreign affairs, non-residents, military and policeh as been extended to 30th of June, 2020.

It would be recalled that Mr Nami, a renowned accountant and alumnus of Bayero University Kano, Nigeria, recently took over from his predecessor Babatunde Fowler in a minor reshuffle by President Buhari in December, 2019.

Many believe that the move by the revenue boss would greatly ease off the tension between tax payers and the collectors at this period of economic uncertainties in Nigeria and the global community.

1 COMMENT

  1. Yes… especially the Telcos. We buy data to last for a month, it only last for 10days. They give you a supposed bonus of N1000 for a recharge of N400 and before you make a Covid19 call for 2munites they have cleared all the bonus. So let the pay their taxes, they have been stealing from us since the lock down.

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