The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has submitted that the digitization of the nation’s tax process is in line with global best practices.

It also disclosed that there are over 500,000 active corporate taxpayers recorded in Nigeria’s national database.

Speaking at a Stakeholder Engagement for the Pilot Rollout of the E-invoice solution held in Lagos yesterday, Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, Tayo Koleosho, said motivated by the necessity for efficiency in tax collection, the agency has successfully established a national database for corporate taxpayers. The database, as he explained, will function as a centralised repository of financial information for all companies operating in the country, thereby streamlining the tax filing process and bolstering the government’s capacity to identify and prevent tax evasion.

According to Koleosho, the technology behind e-invoicing is purely homegrown and takes into cognizance Nigeria’s peculiarities.

“A lot of countries now have a solution that you can use to file your taxes. And in that 2.0, where it becomes more digitised, a lot of countries, I’m surprised, we are 100per cent digitised now, there are still countries that are not.

“So, and again, as a country, I think we’ve been good at being hard on ourselves. It’s only when you go out that you see a lot of things that we’re doing, and you wonder what happened. So we’re actually ahead of so many countries in a lot of things that we’re doing.

“But we always think that we are struggling or we are catching up. But in a lot of ways, we’re actually leading in a lot of initiatives that we’re doing. So from tax action 2.0, where it’s fully automated, you can go into TaxPro or the tax administration solutions, and you can file your taxes.

“And every day you find out that new modules, new initiatives, new simplified ways of doing things are being added into that. But the ultimate goal is to go to tax action 3.0. And at 3.0, which is where the worldwide people are moving to, you’ll find out that in that 3.0, it becomes part of your natural business operation, clearly for your large tax payers, SMEs, where even from your ARP system, whether your resource planning system, your POS system, everything becomes integrated and seamless. And at the end of the month, as you’re filing your taxes, all these things have been built already.

“A lot of interchange between the buyer, the merchant, and the tax administration, and it’s all integrated together. So that the minimal effort just becomes part of doing your business. All the attributions, all the data sets, everything is integrated together.

“That is the future, and the future is not far from us at all. So this is now today, at the beginning of those consultations, we’re going to show what we have been cooking, and we now need people to look at it, people to use it as a pilot, to now tell us what is missing, what is left, and all those things are what we are coming here to do.

“And one important thing as we go on today to remember is, this solution is locally being developed. It is being developed by Nigerians for Nigerians, because we are learning from our own system, our own processes.

“So this is completely localised, and it’s going to be a solution where every of the stakeholders, either from large tax, from tax consultants, from policy makers, everybody will be engaged. So that when it’s done, we have a product that caters to, that has listened to all the ideas and all the suggestions of all our stakeholders. So the journey ultimately is for us to go to  3.0, and like I said, we are very close.

So where are we now? I think I’ve kind of talked about this again. This, I think, is part of the presentation that we can give to anybody that is interested to see. But basically, today from 1.0 to 2.0, everybody in these rooms, they are interested, and I know you are, for you to be here, you are part of the TASA ecosystem. So all this will now be an integrated system that will then work for both sides, and make your tax filing and tax application be much more seamless.”

Koleosho, who also doubles as the Coordinating Director of Compliance Support Group, praised the ingenuity of the new process, stressing that it is bound to smoothen the process of tax administration and ultimately puts the country on the global world map as one that is setting the pace for others as tax innovation and compliance is concerned.

Speaking earlier, Dr. Olabode Olatunji, who represented the Coordinating Director, Large Taxpayer Groups, Mrs Amina Ado, said: “The e-invoicing system is not just a technological innovation, but a strategic enabler that aligns with international best practices. Ensuring seamless tax compliance, reducing revenue decades, and enhancing ease of doing business in Nigeria. In my response to the amazing implementation of the final phase of this solution, we selected large taxpayers.

“The insights gained from this phase will guide the broader implementation. Ensuring that the solution is responsive to the needs of taxpayers across various sectors. Today’s agenda is designed to provide clarity on the objectives and benefits of the e-invoicing initiative.

“Through detailed presentations, discussions, and expert insights, we will explore how the solution integrates into our business operations and the tax ecosystem. We understand that transitioning to a new system comes with challenges.

“Everybody is committed to providing the necessary support and guidance to ensure a seamless adoption process for all stakeholders. As you move forward, your cooperation, feedback, and active participation will be instrumental in shaping the sources of this initiative,” she said.

Credit: thenationonlineng.net