Economy
LIRS Issues Ultimatum To Taxpayers, Says No Plan To Extend Deadline
Taxpayers who default in filing individual annual tax returns on or before the statutory deadline of 31st March will be brought to book, the Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS) has warned.
The LIRS warned that failure to file the tax returns before the stipulated deadline will result in the payment of penalties and other sanctions, adding that defaulters might even be prosecuted.
The LIRS Executive Chairman, Mr. Ayodele Subair noted that the obligation to file yearly tax returns is stipulated in Section 41 of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) which was officially gazetted on Tuesday 31 January 2012 with an effective date of 14 June 2011.
The PITA requires all individuals to submit their individual tax returns (Form A) with the relevant tax authority. This return is for all income earned from all sources in the preceding year.
“It is therefore mandatory for all taxable persons in the State to register on the eTax portal, which is built purposely for the convenience of taxpayers. eTax is easy, convenient, and safe”, he said.
The LIRS boss further noted directed that all tax returns should be filed via the LIRS portal only. Also, taxpayers with difficulties in filing their annual returns were advised to seek assistance from specially designated staff at the LIRS tax stations statewide or call Customer Care representatives on 0700CALLLIRS (0700-2255-5477).
“As part of the Agency’s quest to ease compliance obligations for taxpayers, tax officers have been designated at various tax stations to assist individuals to carry out online registration and filing of tax returns on the e-Tax portal,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had also previously given March 31st as the deadline for payment of foreign currency tax liabilities in Naira.
Investors King had previously reported that a statement signed by the Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, noted that the extension was made due to the number of requests, inquiries and the challenges encountered by taxpayers in sourcing for foreign currencies to offset outstanding tax liabilities.
According to the revenue service, taxpayers are expected to settle their tax liabilities from the 1st of March, 2022 to 31st of March, 2022 in the currency with which the tax is paid.