Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zach Adedeji, on Tuesday announced that issuance of tax exemption certificates had been discontinued.
Adedeji said no further exemption certificates will be issued to all taxpayers, particularly pioneer status companies, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), and free zone entities going forward.
In a statement, Adedeji, however, clarified that entities with existing valid exemption certificates “should note that these certificates remain effective until their expiry date, after which renewals will no longer be granted”.
Nonetheless, the revenue agency disclosed that it collected tax revenues totalling N3.29 trillion in June.
The performance exceeded the budgeted N1.94 trillion by N1.35 trillion, according to a report on FIRS tax collection, which was presented to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) at its meeting in July.
Adedeji said claims for tax benefits or exemptions must strictly comply with applicable laws and follow procedures approved by the service.
He also warned that any attempt to forge, alter, or misrepresent exemption status would attract strict penalties prescribed by the laws.
Adedeji reaffirmed the service’s commitment to a fair and transparent tax system, and urged all stakeholders to comply with the revised procedures and obligations.
FIRS stated that it was expecting a total of N2.20 trillion from NNPCL, being the cumulative Production Sharing Contract (PSC), Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Joint Venture (JV) PPT, and gas income payment for June 2023 to December 2024.
Taxes from PPT/Hydrocarbon amounted to N355.99 billion, while taxes on gas yielded N223.13 billion. Company Income Tax (CIT) on oil and gas totalled N55.95 billion as well as N1.64 trillion on non-oil CIT.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) totalled N292.95 billion, stamp duties N13.86 billion, non-import Value Added Tax (VAT) N524.86 billion, import VAT N153.29 billion, and electronic money transfer levy N30.37 billion.
James Emejo
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