President Bola Tinubu is considering a policy to strip multiple revenue-generating agencies, including the Nigerian Customs Service and Nigerian Ports Authority, of their authority to collect government revenue. Instead, a new centralized body, the Nigeria Revenue Service, may be created to handle all federal revenue collection.
According to a report by PUNCH, the initiative comes as part of broader tax reforms aimed at improving the government’s revenue collection efficiency.
The proposed changes would remove the revenue collection duties from over 60 agencies and shift these responsibilities to the new Nigeria Revenue Service.
The reforms, outlined in four executive bills submitted to the National Assembly, are intended to improve tax collection and maximize government income to support public services and infrastructure development. These bills were read during plenary sessions by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas.
One major aspect of the reform is the renaming of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to Nigeria Revenue Service, which would take on the primary role of assessing, collecting, and accounting for government revenues.
A source at the Presidency clarified that this change would not lead to a merger of agencies but would simply transfer revenue collection tasks to the new agency.
There is no merger of agencies. The bill will only take the revenue collection arm of each agency involved and take it to the Nigerian Revenue Service.
“The plan is that the new revenue agency will be like the US or UK revenue agency that collects all government revenues while other revenue agencies like NIMASA, NPA, Customs, etc, will now focus on their core mandate, which is trade facilitation. There is no merger at all,” the official said.
The bill seeking the name change for FIRS was outlined in a letter read by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, during the plenary sessions.
The proposed law, titled the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, seeks to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No. 13, 2007, and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service.
According to Tinubu, the new agency will be responsible for assessing, collecting, and accounting for revenue accruing to the government.
In addition to the name change, Tinubu submitted three other tax reform bills under the title, ‘Transmission of Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Bills’ to the National Assembly.
The President also transmitted to the parliament the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which seeks to create a Tax Tribunal and a Tax Ombudsman.
He wrote, “The Nigeria Tax Bill: This bill seeks to provide a consolidated fiscal framework for taxation in the country.
“The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill: Aimed at offering a clear and concise legal framework, this bill will ensure the fair, consistent, and efficient administration of tax laws, facilitating ease of tax compliance, reducing disputes, and optimizing revenue collection.
“The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill: This proposal seeks to establish the Joint Revenue Board, the Tax Appeal Tribunal, and the Office of the Tax Ombudsman, which will work to harmonise, coordinate, and resolve disputes arising from revenue administration in Nigeria.”
Tinubu emphasised that the proposed tax bills would have far-reaching benefits for the country, promoting taxpayer compliance, strengthening fiscal institutions, and fostering a more effective and transparent fiscal regime.
“I am confident that the bills, when passed, will encourage investment, boost consumer spending, and stimulate Nigeria’s economic growth,” Tinubu stated.
On the floor of the House of Representatives, Speaker, Abbas, confirmed receipt of the bills, stressing that they were designed in line with the objectives of the present administration.
He noted that when passed into law, the bills would encourage the growth and sustainability of the economy.
The House also consolidated six bills seeking the repeal of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 to enact the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, 2024.
The bill aims at ensuring prudent management of the nation’s resources, ensuring long-term macro-economic stability of the national economy; and securing greater accountability and transparency in fiscal operations within the medium-term fiscal policy framework.
Abbas, who presided over plenary, urged the Committee on Rules and Business to fix a date for debate on the general principles of the newly consolidated bills.