FIRS identifies over 200 non- compliant oil, gas companies

Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has identified over 200 oil and gas companies that have not filed in returns for 2015.

Consequently, the FIRS has written to them directly or through their tax consultants to comply before the end of the year.

Also, the agency has within 26 days registered 35,650 corporate taxpayers and 22,000 individual taxpayers who have not been paying taxes.

As part of strategies to engage stakeholders, FIRS on October 12, 2015 commenced nationwide tax registration drive (with focus on VAT), to bring in all unregistered taxpayers into the tax net.

A nationwide VAT and withholding tax (WHT) compliance check was also commenced on the same date, where the agency discovered that over N117 billion was paid from September to date.

“The above complement our ongoing long-term projects, such as Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS), which will automate all core tax administration processes (registration, filing, audit, etc), provision of multiple tax payment channels, such as e-tax pay and VAT Auto Collect, which are all aimed at making compliance easier for taxpayers,” Tunde Fowler, acting executive chairman, FIRS, said in Lagos on the sideline of KPMG tax breakfast meeting.

He said tax registration forms had been simplified for ease of use by taxpayers. The forms, which are currently in use nationwide, were reduced from 13 pages to 1 page and the fields to be filled were reduced from 115 to 20 for corporates and 35 for individuals.

He noted as part of strategies to engage stakeholders, the presentation at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum conference on IGR held on November 16, 2015, stressed the need to focus on tax revenue and improve collaboration between states and the Federal Government as an approach for improving IGR.

At the moment, focus is on moral persuasion for taxpayers to voluntarily comply, where this approach does not produce the expected results, “we will move to legal enforcement,” Fowler said.

Going forward, he said there would be greater emphasis on the role of the tax consultants in ensuring compliance by their clients. “As a start, we have written letters to the major firms, including KPMG identifying some of their non-compliant clients,” he said.

“We will therefore continue to collaborate and engage with stakeholders so that our message of voluntary compliance as the first line approach for managing taxpayers is understood and internalised by tax consultants, taxpayers and all other stakeholders,” he said.

Meanwhile, KPMG yesterday launched the maiden edition of the tax risk management survey report. Presenting the survey report, Olanike James, partner, financial service/tax management consulting, tax, regulatory, and people services, KPMG Nigeria, said organisations need to understand and manage tax risks, just as all other aspects of enterprise and business risks facing their business, in order to enhance tax cost optimisation, improve business performance, and create shareholder value.

Hope Moses-Ashike