Nigeria's Revenue Agency, FIRS, Signs MoU With UK's HM Revenue And Customs on Capacity Building

Nigeria's Revenue Agency, FIRS, Signs MoU With UK's HM Revenue And Customs on Capacity Building

  • Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is partnering with UK's His Royal Majesty's Revenue and Customs on capacity building
  • The two tax bodies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to improve workers' capacity for revenue collection
  • The event was attended by Nigeria's FIRS boos, Muhammad Nami, and his UK counterpart, Jon Sherman

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Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Kingdom's Royal Majestey's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to collaborate on the capacity building between the two tax bodies.

The two bodies signed the agreement in London and were attended by the Chairman of FIRS, Muhammadu Nami, who was accompanied by the board and management of FIRS.

FIRS, HMRC, Nami, Sherma
Muhammadu Nami, FIRS Chairman and Jon Sherman Credit: FIRS
Source: UGC

MoU meant to strengthen relations between UK and Nigeria

Reports say that the Director of HMRC, Jon Sherman, attended the event alongside Executive Committee members.

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Nami said that partnership was in two with the FIRS's two cardinal objectives: to build a data-centric tax authority and improve FIRS' collaboration and stakeholder relations.

Nami said:

"I am certain that this relationship would equip our officers with the skills of the 21st-century tax man," he stated.
"Data is the new oil. Its collection, interpretation, and consequent application for tax purposes have become crucial if the Service must be ahead of the taxpayer in our times.
"With increased collaboration between the Service and tax authorities the world over—one of the cardinal pillars of this current management—meticulous and purposeful management and strategic interpretation of the information we exchange has become a fundamental element of inter-tax-authority relations.
"These, among several others, form the major areas where we would collaborate on capacity building with the HMRC."

The FIRS boss, the President of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA), explained that with this collaboration, Service officers would be better equipped to improve tax revenue collection and provide the government with the much-needed resources to cater to Nigerians.

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David Yellowly, Head of Capacity Building at the HMRC, emphasized that the MoU between the Nigerian and UK revenue authorities would see the two countries collaborating on Capacity Building, particularly on issues surrounding Country-by-Country Reporting Standards, Transfer Pricing, Exchange of Information, Data, and Audit in the Oil and Gas industry.

FIRS boss notches up collaborations for the agency

A statement by FIRS said Nami had engendered numerous collaborative efforts with tax authorities locally and across the world, in line with his agenda of improving stakeholder relations for improved tax administration.

In February this year, the FIRS signed an MoU with the Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) for collaboration on Joint Tax Audit, Exchange of Information, and Capacity Building.

FIRS sets new record, collects over N10trn revenue in 2022, Buhari hails achievement

Legit.ng reported that The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) collected more than N10 trillion in 2022, its highest revenue collection in a single year.

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According to Punch, It is also the first time the FIRS will cross the 10-trillion naira mark in tax revenue collection.

The information was revealed in the "FIRS 2022 Performance Update," a report signed by the company's executive chairman, Muhammad Nami, and made public on Monday, January 23, 2023.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Pascal Oparada avatar

Pascal Oparada (Business editor) For over a decade, Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy. He has worked in many media organizations such as Daily Independent, TheNiche newspaper, and the Nigerian Xpress. He is a 2018 PwC Media Excellence Award winner. Email:pascal.oparada@corp.legit.ng