Nigeria’s Inland Revenue Service Wants Constitution Amended to Allow It Collect VAT

Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has asked lawmakers to insert the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) under item 58 of the exclusive legislative list, documents seen by ARISE News has revealed.

The move comes amidst claims by Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami that sub national governments in the country have no business collecting VAT.

Mr Nami in a televised broadcast on Wednesday said the collection of VAT is solely the responsibility of the federal government.

In a letter to the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Nami said “the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) proposes for the insertion of Value Added Tax immediately after Stamp Duties under item 58 part II of 2nd schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the FRN.”

The FIRS has been in a running battle with Rivers state over the collection of VAT. Only recently a federal high court in Port Harcourt issued an order restraining the tax agency from collecting VAT and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in the southern Rivers state. FIRS has however appealed the ruling.

The FIRS in the letter told lawmakers that the requests would increase revenue generation for the government.

It also sought the need to exclusively include all adjudication of tax disputes, including federal tax laws, companies income tax, petroleum tax, income tax, capital gain tax, stamp duty, VAT and taxes and levies as well as other laws, regulations, proclamations, government notices and rules to the federal collector.

By Abel Ejikeme