As from January 2021, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, will go after tax defaulters to recover outstanding taxes.
However, before embarking on the tax recovery drive, the FIRS says it will leave the window of opportunity open for tax defaulters to make good on their obligations.
“Waivers of penalties and interest” on outstanding taxes the FIRS said will be in effect till December 31, 2020. Thereafter the window will close.
Outstanding taxes that will incur penalties and interests will be those “arising from desk examinations, audit exercises, investigations or all other forms of tax assessment”.
Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, the director, Communications and Liaison Department of the FIRS in a statement on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, said the Service is appealing to “taxpayers in the country to take advantage of the remaining days of this month to settle their tax obligations in order to enjoy all subsisting waivers offered by the Service.”
He stated that the executive chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, has already issued a reminder notice in this regard entitled, “Public Notice on the Recovery of Outstanding Taxes from Taxpayers.”
The public notice says: the FIRS has issued a series of palliatives for the waivers of penalties and interest on outstanding taxes arising from desk examinations, audit exercises, investigations or all other forms of tax assessment.
However, the Service lamented that “some taxpayers are yet to take advantage of the palliative windows opened to cushion the effect of the challenges of the economy on taxpayers.”
By this development, the FIRS said it is putting “all taxpayers on notice that the last window of opportunity for the waiver of outstanding penalties and interest on all taxes collectible by the Federal Inland Revenue Service shall close on 31st December 2020.
Consequently, taxpayers are warned “that after the expiration date of 31st December 2020, the Service shall recover all outstanding debt with penalties and interest, in accordance with the provisions of the extant tax laws such as “the power of substitution” conferred on it by Section 31 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007.”
