TECHNOCRAT MEDIA, Abuja
The Finance Act, 2021 assented on December 31, 2022, by President Muhammadu Buhari gives the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) some new powers on tax collection and management to impose fines and penalties.
TECHNOCRAT MEDIA has identified six new powers given to FIRS by the Act on tax collection, administration, and management. The provisions will strengthen the Agency to perform its responsibilities according to the law. The provisions include:
- It is an offence, punishable by a fine of N10m, imprisoment or both, for any agency of the Federal Government (other than FIRS) or any of their staff or consultant, to demand for books or returns for the purposes of tax, or carry out the function of assessment, collection or enforcement of tax, or pay any portion of tax revenue to any person or into account, other than the relevant accounts designated by the constitution or relevant laws of the National Assembly [Section 68 (3) of FIRSEA].
- The FIRS is vested with the duty to assess, collect, account and enforce the payment of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Levy. The levy is 0.005% of the net profit of companies operating business in Nigeria as provided under Section 4 of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establisment) Act.
- Any bank that fails to prepare and submit quarterly returns of new accounts or any information requested by the relevant tax authority, or submit incorrect returns or information, under section 28 of FIRSEA or sections 47 and 49 of PITA, is liable to a penality of N1m for each quarterly return or information not provided or incorrect returns or information provided.
- Any persons who fails to grant FIRS access to its information processing systems to deploy its automated tax administration technology after a 30 days notice, or such extension granted by FIRS, is liable to a penalty of N25,000 for each day it continues to fail to grant the access [Section 25 (4B) of FIRSEA].
- Other agencies of the Federal Government are under statutory obligation to report cases requiring tax investigation, enforcement or compliance, encountered in the course of performing their function, to the Service for necessary action; they are forbidden from carrying out tax monitoring, audit or investigation [Section 68 (5) of FIRSEA].
- Any person employed in FIRS or otherwise that has access to taxper information is under a strict legal obligation to keep such information confidential. Leakages of taxpayer information by such person is liable to fine, imprisonment or both fine and imprisionment [Section 50 of FIRSEA].
