Conditional obligation for beneficiaries of taxable supplies made by NRCs
Section 10 was amended to include a conditional obligation for beneficiaries of taxable supplies made by NRCs in Nigeria.
The amended section provides that the FIRS may appoint any other person aside from the beneficiary of the taxable supplies to act as a VAT collection agent for the Government. It further states that the amendment also provides that the FIRS may issue further guidelines to give effect to the provisions of section 10 of the VAT Act. As such, it is expected that the FIRS will issue an implementation guideline in this regard.
FIRS to appoint VAT withholding/collection agent
Section 14 of the Act was amended to empower the Service to appoint any person to withhold or collect VAT, and such person is obligated to remit the VAT withheld or collected to the FIRS within 21 days of the following month.
This amendment seems to reiterate the powers of the FIRS to appoint any person to act as its collection agent for VAT purposes, and the obligation to remit the VAT collected within the statutory time.
Exclusion of upstream petroleum operations from exemption privileges
Section 15 of the Act was amended to exclude companies engaged in upstream petroleum operations from the exemption privileges enjoyed by companies below the VAT threshold.
By implication, companies engaged in upstream petroleum operations must comply with the provision of the VAT Act irrespective of their turnover, even if their turnover is below the VAT threshold of NGN25 million.
Source EY
