Nigeria: FIRS to Commence Nationwide VAT Compliance Review and Audit of Companies and Entities

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria has set a two-week deadline for all tax agents across the country to remit Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) to the agency’s designated accounts. A nationwide VAT compliance review and audit exercise are scheduled to begin on Monday, October 23, 2023.

This announcement was made through a public notice released on the agency’s official social media platforms. The notice indicates that a tax compliance monitoring operation will be launched across the nation next Monday.

In accordance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007, the exercise will encompass an examination of the VAT and WHT records of specific taxpayers.

The official statement reads: “Pursuant to Sections 2, 8, 26 and 29 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007 (as amended), notice is hereby given to all taxable persons or tax agents, including Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) at the Federal, State, and Local levels:

“The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will initiate a nationwide VAT and WHT Compliance monitoring exercise effective from Monday, October 23, 2023.

“As a result, teams of officers from the Service will visit selected taxpayers, taxable persons (including companies, NGOs, or MDAs) to review their VAT and WHT records.

“The exercise will encompass the accounting years from 2019 to 2022 for taxable persons whose records have been audited by the Service up to the 2018 accounting year. However, for taxpayers whose records have not been audited by the Service up to 2018, the exercise will be extended to include the preceding years that have not undergone tax auditing.

“All taxable persons or tax agents who have deducted VAT or WHT on behalf of the Service are required to promptly remit all such deductions to the FIRS within two weeks of this publication.

“Taxable persons or tax agents scheduled for the VAT and WHT compliance monitoring exercise will be duly notified by the FIRS, and a detailed list of the documents required for the operation will be provided in the notification to the selected entities.”