The Nigerian Senate has proposed a Communication Service Tax Bill (2019) as extra revenue for the national budget. Communication service tax (CST) is a charge of 9% on electronic communication services such as voice calls, SMS, MMS, pay per view TV stations and data usage from telecommunication service providers and internet service providers. As a…
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued a public notice that requires companies to deduct withholding tax (WHT) and value added tax (VAT) on payment to agents, dealers, distributors, and retailers. Companies, especially those in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry are expected to deduct WHT and VAT at the correct rates on compensation,…
On 24 June 2019, the Court of Appeal (CoA), supported the ruling of the Federal High Court (FHC), in Vodacom Business Nigeria Limited (Vodacom) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on the issue of value-added tax (VAT) on imported services rendered by a non-resident company outside Nigeria. A non-resident company (NRC) is a company incorporated…
As a fiscal measure to encourage investment in the capital market, the Federal Government of Nigeria issued the VAT (Exemption of Commissions on Stock Exchange Transactions) Order, 2014 (Exemption Order) on 25 July 2014. The Exemption Order amended the First Schedule of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act 2004. All commissions on capital market transactions…
The Federal Executive Council has approved a rate of 0.2 percent on qualifying imports coming into Nigeria from the African Union (AU) countries. This approval is a sequel to the decision reached at the AU Summit for Heads of States and Government in July 2016 wherein all Member States were requested to implement a 0.2%…
Recently, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) revealed its plan to impose VAT on online transactions in Nigeria. Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax imposed at 5% on the cost of goods and services supplied in Nigeria except for items specifically exempted or zero-rated under the VAT Act. A taxable person will charge and…
Nigeria is getting ready for its first increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) rate since 1993. The Minister for Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma and the Chairman of FIRS, Babatunde Fowler announced this on 19 March 2019. By increasing the VAT rate with 50%, the government intends to fund the recent minimum wage…
In our daily lives, we usually come across people who sell goods and services to buyers at a price. The volume of sales could be on a small, medium, or even on a large scale. If you purchase an item from a retail store, you will notice a certain amount called Value Added Tax (VAT)…
The Federal High Court, Lagos (“FHC”) has revoked the decision of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (“TAT”) in Gazprom Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited (Gazprom) v. Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) relating to services which Gazprom received from a non-resident company. Initially, the TAT held that a non-resident company that is not carrying on business in…
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved two executive orders and five amendment bills on 6 June 2018. Value Added Tax Act (Modification) Order and Review of Goods Liable to Excise Duties and Applicable Rate Order are the two executive orders. Also, the five amendment bills cover the Companies Income Tax Act (Amendment) Bill, Personal Income…