Nigeria: Federal Inland Revenue Service empowered to appoint non-resident suppliers as agents of VAT collection
Tax Appeal Tribunal Lagos Zone
Federal Inland Revenue Service empowered to appoint non-resident suppliers
The Tax Appeal Tribunal Lagos Zone held that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) validly exercised its powers under the value added tax (VAT) law to appoint a non-resident supplier as an agent of collection of VAT from both the activities of the food vendors and drivers that use the company鈥檚 platform to provide services to customers.
The Tribunal also clarified that the Federal Inland Revenue Service鈥檚 guidelines entitled, Guidelines on Simplified Compliance Regime for Value Added Tax (VAT) for Non-Resident Suppliers, is not excluded from Section 10 of the VAT law.
The case is: Bolt Operations OU v. Federal Inland Revenue Service
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The VAT obligations for businesses operating online marketplace businesses have been a subject of contentious debate between the FIRS and the affected businesses. The government, through Finance Acts 2020 and 2021, sought to clarify some of these issues by defining the VAT compliance obligations for the various players and empowering the Federal Inland Revenue Service to appoint and/ or allocate obligations to any of the players for ease of collection of the tax. The Tribunal鈥檚 decision clarifies the conflicting positions held by the different parties regarding the powers of the FIRS to appoint any person involved in online marketplace transactions to collect and remit the VAT due.
Based on the Tribunal鈥檚 decision, online marketplace businesses now have additional VAT obligations in respect of domestic transactions between taxable persons resident in Nigeria. One significant clarification provided by the Tribunal is that the VAT law does not impose any condition precedent before the FIRS can exercise the power to appoint any person as the agent of VAT collection. The Tribunal鈥檚 position appears to rely on the principles of convenience and management of cost of collection of taxes.
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