Economy

FIRS Targets N8tr from Nigerian Taxpayers in 2019

Published

7 years ago

08/01/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

The management of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said it hopes to generate not less than N8 trillion in 2019.

Speaking at an event in Lagos tagged Parliamentary Support for Effective Taxation of the Digital Economy, Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr Babatunde Fowler, said last year, the agency collected a total of N5.3 trillion in taxes, though lower than the over N6 trillion target set at the beginning of 2018.

However, Mr Fowler said this amount was the highest revenue ever generated by FIRS in history.

Before now, the highest ever collected by the federal tax body was N5.07 trillion recorded in 2012.

According to the tax master, the N5.3 trillion generated last year was significant as it was at a period when oil prices averaged $70 per barrel compared with $100 to $120 per barrel between 2010 and 2013.

Giving a breakdown, the tax chief said oil component of the N5.320 trillion was N2.467 trillion representing 46.38 percent, while non-oil element of the collection accounted for N2.852 trillion representing 53.62 percent.

“While we have been steadily increasing revenue collection over the years, our cost of collection has actually been going down.

“In 2016, we collected N3.307 trillion, in 2017 we collected N4.027 trillion and in 2018 we collected N5.320 trillion,” he said.

He further said from audit alone, FIRS collected a total of N212.8 billion from 2278 cases with a huge reduction in audit circle.

“The Service has been making tremendous efforts in also increasing the amount of non-oil revenue it collects. Non-oil collection has contributed 64.99 percent in 2016, in 2017 it contributed 62.25 percent and in 2018 it contributed 53.62 percent.

“This represents the government’s focus on increasing non-oil sources of revenue and the diversification of the Nigerian economy,” he added.

Mr Fowler also stated that various initiatives were implemented by FIRS to enhance tax administration and make taxation as easy as possible.

According to him, FIRS deployed ICT initiatives that enable a taxpayer to pay taxes from anywhere in the world, at any time. With the e-payment channel one can pay taxes with the click of a button and one can also download their receipts.

Other e-Services are the e-Registration, e-Filing, -Stamp Duty and e-Tax Clearance Certificate. “Taxpayers can now also choose the tax office where they would like to conduct their tax transactions.

Before now, if one was registered with a particular tax office, one had to conduct all of their tax transactions in that office. However, to make it more convenient for the taxpayer, they can now choose which ever office they wish to conduct their transactions with. He noted that Nigerian taxpayers are embracing the modern way of tax collection, introduced by the FIRS through the 6-e Solutions.

He said, “We are automating the collection of Value Added Tax, VAT in key sectors which will facilitate reduction in compliance cost in the long term. We are doing System to system integration between banks and FIRS.

“And I am happy to announce to you that we had a 31 percent increase year on year in VAT collection in the banks that have gone live between Jan 2017- Dec 2018 and collected 25 billion so far “Amongst others, there is also the Government Information Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), which links FIRS to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation OAGF for real-time exchange of information and data.

“We are also automating the payment of VAT by states through the State Offices of Accountant General Platform (SAG). This will ensure that we automate and deduct at source and remittance of VAT and WHT from state governments’ contract payments directly to FIRS’s account and so far, collected 13 billion.”

He noted that taxpayers that requested for and processed their Tax Clearance Certificate, TCC through tcc.firs.gov.ng, from the comfort of their homes.

“Tax clearance on the platform grew from 9,574 – 59,350 within a year of introducing the platform. “Auto VAT collection in key sectors has also facilitated in reducing the cost of compliance. Between January, 2017 and December, 2018 VAT collection increased by 31 percent which translates to a collection of N25 billion. Overall, in 2019 VAT crossed the N1 trillion mark. Indeed,

He said, “In 2016 FIRS initiated a tax amnesty programme which attracted over 3000 applications for waiver of interest and penalties. The programme resulted in payment of over N68 billion out of about N96.2 billion liability established by the exercise.

The Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the FIRS received over 5122 applications under the Scheme. The Scheme resulted in voluntary declarations of over N92 billion, with over N54 billion paid so far by companies.

Mr Fowler reiterated the fact that only companies that made a profit are obliged to pay taxes. According to him, if a company is situated in Nigeria it is only fair that it pays its fair share of tax for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“FIRS wrote to all commercial banks in May 2018, requesting for a list of companies, partnerships and enterprises with a banking turnover of N1 billion and above.

“This activity was aimed at ascertaining those companies that are compliant with the tax laws and those that are not compliant. So far, non-compliant organisations have paid about N21.75 billion. “Companies that had a Tax Identification Number (TIN) and were paying were 45261, those that had a TIN but were not paying were 40611 and those without a TIN and who were not paying were 34504,” the tax chief said.

Economy

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.

During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.

Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.

As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.

During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.

The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.

The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.

Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.

The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.

Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.

However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.

Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.