Economy
Nigeria Needs Efficient Tax Refund System—PwC
By Dipo Olowookere
The federal government has been advised to consider implementing a proper tax refund system to increase investment in the country.
In a publication titled Tax Refunds in Nigeria – Myth or Reality, the firm said “investors will feel more confident when they know that overpaid taxes can be refunded.”
In the article, PwC picked a hole in the current system which fixed the tax refund budget of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) at N25 billion in a year, noting that this will discourage some companies from applying for a refund.
While analysing the 2021 annual report of the FIRS, which gave a breakdown of refund cases between 2019 and 2021, it was observed that the agency emphasised that the payment of approved refund applications was subject to the availability of the funds released to it in its annual budget/appropriation despite witnessing almost 10 per cent rise in tax refund applications from organisations and individuals.
According to the tax collecting organisation, it received tax refund claims of N321.4 billion between 2019 and 2011 but could only pay N69.9 billion.
“The question then is whether the government has made adequate provisions to cater for situations where the approved refunds exceed the budget,” the member of the Big Four accounting firms asked.
This made PwC conclude that “refunds would likely be considered more of a myth to many businesses, especially those whose refund requests exceeded the FIRS’ N25 billion refund budget, or who are hit with additional liabilities following a refund audit.”
Business Post reports that in the Federal Inland Revenue Service Establishment Act 2007 (FIRSEA), taxpayers can request refunds if they have made an overpayment.
The excess can only be paid to the beneficiary within 90 days after an audit has been carried out to authenticate the validity of the request.
However, as noted by PwC, “The tax audit process in Nigeria is known to be rigorous, lengthy and expensive, and the tax refund applicants often end up with liabilities that exceed the refund requested and looked into areas that are not relevant for the refund.
“Section 23 of the FIRSEA does not specify a timeframe within which tax refund audits must be concluded; as a result, there seems to be a low level of commitment from the tax authority to finalise such audits.”
To address this, the firm has advised that “the timeframe from verification of refund to the payment of the tax refunds should not exceed 12 months,” adding that “commercial interest should apply on late payment of refunds, similar to interest imposed on taxpayers for late payment of taxes” to encourage accountability and align Nigeria’s tax system with global best practices.
It said in “Germany, refund payments are usually made within two to six months of an application; and there is an interest of 0.15 per cent that is charged for late refunds payments.”
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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