To prepare tax authorities for the enforcement drive before 2023, the Federal Capital Territory’s Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) has started tax enforcement capacity and simulation training.
This was said in a statement made in Abuja by Mr. Mustapha Sumaila, Head of Corporate Communications for the FCT-IRS.
According to Sumaila, the training is centred on an understanding of the Nigerian tax environment, tax administration, and processes—and how these interact with legal tax debt recovery and punishment for tax offences.
According to him, among other things, the training was concentrated on the procedure for recovering income tax before courts and criminal jurisdiction of courts on tax concerns.”
The FCT-IRS Acting Chairman, Mr. Haruna Abdullahi, reportedly urged attendees to take the course seriously during the training, according to the communication head.
Abdullahi claimed that it was intentional for the training to be scheduled for the end of the year while being represented by the Director of Legal Services, Mrs. Ngozi Jipreze.
He explained that it was done to build on the training they had received at the start of the year.
The training, according to the acting chairman, will provide staff members with the knowledge they need on the applicable laws on enforcement in order to better prepare them for their upcoming tasks.
He contends that the effort, which will conclude the entire tax process from assessment to filing of tax returns and enforcement, is strategic and essential to assuring tax compliance.
The head of FCT-IRS stated that individual taxpayers in the FCT would also be held accountable as part of the enforcement process, in addition to focusing on organisations.
More than 70 individuals, from various service cadres, attended the training, according to Sumaila.
Professors of law and tax experts, including Prof. Abiola Sanni (SAN), Prof. Gbenga Akingbehin, Mr. Seyi Alade, Mr. Lanre Akinsola, and Mr. OluKayode Fabunmi, among others, aided the training, according to him.
