Foreign Shipping Companies Lifting Crude Oil Must Comply With Nigeria’s Tax Laws-FIRS Chairman
Foreign Shipping Companies Lifting Crude Oil Must Comply With Nigeria’s Tax Laws-FIRS Chairman
The FIRS chairman, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Dare Adekanmbi, assured the international companies that the agency was only interested in ensuring compliance with extant tax laws and not out to disrupt their operations.
The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, has charged non-domestic companies shipping crude oil from Nigeria to ensure strict compliance with the country’s tax laws in their operations.
He said the tax compliance exercise commenced by FIRS on the activities of foreign shipping companies lifting hydrocarbons from Nigeria was part of measures aimed at widening the tax net in order to grow revenue for the government.
Adedeji gave the charge in Lagos at a workshop on taxation of non-resident shipping companies organised by FIRS in conjunction with Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS).
Adedeji, who prior to his appointment as FIRS chairman was Special Adviser on Revenue to President Bola Tinubu, reminded the companies about how his intervention had earlier led to the six months grace period given to them to regularise their tax returns.
The international shipping companies have up to December 31 this year to reconcile their books with FIRS.
He said, “The Federal Government has set a target of increasing Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio to 18 per cent within the next three years.
“The goal is to achieve this without imposing additional taxes but by broadening the tax net. The compliance exercise on international shipping companies lifting crude oil from Nigeria is in line with this strategy of broadening the tax net.
Therefore, I urge the international shipping companies that are not complying with Nigerian tax laws to begin to do so immediately.
“The Service has noted the concerns raised by stakeholders in the oil and gas industry and the maritime sector regarding the tax compliance exercise initiated on international shipping companies lifting crude oil from Nigeria.
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