What is VOARS? VOARS means Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme. President Muhammadu Buhari issued the Executive Order 008 called Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (“VOARS” or “the Scheme”) on 8 October 2018. The Scheme allows Nigerian taxpayers to declare their offshore assets and pay the corresponding taxes within 12 months. As a form of tax…
Multinational companies often send employees to another country for business purposes. It could be a formal or an informal assignment. An example of an employee on formal assignment is an expatriate. An expatriate is a person residing in another (host) country for work reasons. The duration ranges from short-term, medium-term, and long-term. A company in Nigeria must…
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…
Taxpayer identification number (TIN) is essential for opening a corporate bank account in Nigeria. A tax resident who supplies goods or services is expected to apply for TIN with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Thereafter, a taxpayer uses TIN for tax payment and filing of returns due to FIRS. Recently, FIRS identified 6,772 businesses having an…
Personal Income Tax is the charge on the income of individuals, trustees, and executors. In Nigeria, the key legislation is the Nigeria Tax Act 2025. The effective date of the Nigeria Tax Act is 1 January 2026. This article provides a guide on the taxation of employees (PAYE tax) in Nigeria. Employees pay tax based…
New and existing businesses in Nigeria are saddled with two or more statutory requirements. This article focuses on taxation of profits of new companies. In Nigeria, this concept is called commencement rule based on Section 29(3) of the Companies Income Tax Act 2007, LFN (as amended). This provision applies to companies in the first…
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…