FIRS asks taxpayers with foreign currency tax liabilities to pay in naira

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it has offered a one-month concession for taxpayers with outstanding foreign currency tax liabilities to settle their financial obligations in naira.

Johannes Oluwatobi Wojuola, the special assistant on media and communication to the chairman of FIRS, said this in a statement released on Monday.

According to Wojuola, Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of FIRS, had signed and released a public notice on the concession and it will take effect from the 1st of March to 31st March, 2022.

FIRS said it had received requests and enquiries from taxpayers on challenges being encountered in sourcing for foreign currencies to offset their outstanding tax liabilities.

“In view of the number of requests, enquiries, and the challenges encountered by the taxpaying public in sourcing for foreign currencies to offset outstanding tax liabilities,” the notice reads.

“The Federal Inland Revenue Service (“the Service”) wishes to inform our esteemed taxpayers that a one-month window has now been opened for this category of taxpayers to settle their foreign currency tax liabilities in Naira with effect from the 1st of March, 2022 to 31st of March, 2022.”

FIRS explained that this concession was a one-off window as the law has stated that the currency a taxpayer transacts in is the currency with which the tax is to be paid.

“The extant provision is that the currency of the transaction should be the currency with which the tax is paid,” it added.

“However, this is a one-off window/concession, and the Service would no longer entertain any such request from the taxpaying public.

“The applicable rate shall be the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Foreign Exchange Rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prevailing on the date of the transaction and or when the tax obligation falls due.”

The notice also added that the window covers all such liabilities due for payment on or before December 31, 2021, and all taxes except the Petroleum Profit Tax.

“This concession is available to all taxpayers, covers all tax types, and all foreign currency tax liabilities falling due on or before 31st December 2021, except for companies in the Upstream (Oil & Gas) Sector, and the Petroleum Profits Tax,” it said.

To benefit from this, the statement said taxpayers within the category are expected to make all payments before March 31, 2022.

It further added that relevant documents relating to the transaction together with the evidence of payment must be forwarded to the office of the executive chairman, and a copy submitted to the local tax office where the taxpayer’s file is domiciled.