FIRS gives dollar tax debtors 4 weeks to clear liabilities

From Uche Usim, Abuja

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has urged taxpayers who have outstanding foreign currency tax liabilities to take advantage of its one-month window to defray them in naira instead of foreign currencies.

The grace period is with effect from March 1 to March 31, according to a Public Notice released by the Service and signed by the Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami.

The FIRS stated that it had received requests and enquiries from taxpayers on challenges being encountered in sourcing for foreign currencies to offset their outstanding tax liabilities.

The Service explained that this concession was a one-off window as the law has stated that the currency a taxpayer transacts in is the currency with which the tax is to be paid.

‘The extant provision is that the currency of the transaction should be the currency with which the tax is paid. However, this is a one-off window/concession, and the Service would no longer entertain any such request from the taxpaying public,’ the FIRS stated.

The Notice further stated: ‘The applicable rate shall be the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Foreign Exchange Rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prevailing on the date of the transaction and or when the tax obligation falls due.’

The Notice explained that this window covers all such liabilities that have fallen due for payment on or before 31st December 2021, and for all taxes except the Petroleum Profit Tax.

‘This concession is available to all taxpayers, covers all tax types, and all foreign currency tax liabilities falling due on or before 31st December 2021, except for companies in the Upstream (Oil & Gas) Sector, and the Petroleum Profits Tax,’ the Notice stated.

To benefit from this, taxpayers within this category are expected to make all payments before March 31 and upon payment, the relevant documents relating to the transaction together with the evidence of payment must be forwarded to the Office of the Executive Chairman, and a copy submitted to the local tax office where the taxpayer’s file is domiciled.