Prepare to be amazed as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) gears up for an extraordinary nationwide monitoring exercise on Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) compliance. This groundbreaking initiative was announced by the FIRS Executive Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, in a statement released on Monday. The exercise, which commences on Monday, October 23, aims to ensure that taxpayers fulfill their obligations and accurately remit the appropriate amount of VAT and WHT to the government.
Adedeji emphasized that this exercise is being conducted in accordance with “Sections 2, 8, 26, and 29 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007 (as amended).” It is important to note that this exercise extends to all taxable persons or tax agents, including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) at all levels of government – Federal, State, and Local.
A team of dedicated officers from the service will embark on this extraordinary journey, visiting selected taxpayers and taxable persons, including companies, NGOs, and MDAs, to meticulously review their VAT and WHT records. The scope of this mind-blowing exercise encompasses the accounting years from 2019 to 2022 for taxable persons whose records have already been audited by the Service up to the 2018 accounting year. Additionally, taxpayers whose records have not yet been audited up to 2018 will have their previous years, which have not been tax audited, included in this awe-inspiring exercise.
Adedeji stressed that all taxable persons or tax agents who have made deductions of VAT or WHT on behalf of the Service must promptly remit these deductions to the FIRS within two weeks of this publication. The FIRS Chairman further emphasized that the selected entities who will undergo the VAT and WHT compliance monitoring exercise will receive prior notification from the FIRS, while the necessary documents required for the exercise will be provided in detail within the notification letter.
Prepare to witness the FIRS in action as they embark on this extraordinary nationwide journey towards VAT and WHT compliance. Stay tuned for a transformative experience that will shape the future of taxation in Nigeria.
