Nigeria moves to recover over 100 bln naira in tax loss from contractors

In its bid to ensure transparency, block leakages and expand tax net, Nigeria's minister of finance has directed government contractors to include their Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) on invoices before payment could be effected.

Kemi Adeosun in a directive to the country's Accountant General, Ahmed Idris, noted that the move was designed to block leakages in tax collection from government contractors.

According to the minister, records have revealed a shortfall of about 100 billion naira in expected tax revenue from government contractors and vendors between 2012 and 2017.

Adeosun, in a memo titled “Compliance with Tax Payments by Federal Government Vendors”, disclosed that persistent leakages in revenue remittances by vendors had been uncovered by the Government’s Project Lighthouse, a systemwide revenue intelligence data-warehouse.
She attributed the leakages to the none inclusion of TIN by contractors in their invoices, particularly on Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and other related inflows into the government coffers
“In order to address these lapses in the implementation of the 2017 Budget as well as boost the revenue accruable to the government, all MDAs should be directed to insist that invoices submitted by vendors for payments must clearly state the TIN," Adeosun said..
She said the directive was to ensure that relevant government vendors comply with tax obligations before they are paid.

The Minister stated that spot checks would be undertaken on MDAs to confirm compliance with the directive.