Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, surrounded by Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) enumeration vendors at the stakeholder engagement meeting between the FIRS and Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) in Lagos. 21st June 2023.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) collaborated with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria (MATAN) to collect and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) from the country’s markets, particularly the informal sector, to the FIRS.
The Association has over 40 million members spread over the country’s 774 local governments, and 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory is the most significant player in Nigeria’s market area.
The FIRS’ collaboration with MATAN was revealed on Wednesday 21st of June 2023 at a Stakeholders Engagement Programme on the VAT DIRECT Initiative hosted in Lagos State. The FIRS will collaborate with the association to deploy technology to enumerate traders to collect and remit VAT to the Service, resulting in an expansion of the tax net and more significant revenue for the Federation.
The VAT DIRECT Initiative (VDI), is a ground-breaking program aimed at improving collaboration between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the market place, particularly those in the informal sector. This innovative program uses technology to improve the collection and remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT).
During a Stakeholder Engagement event, Mr. Muhammad Nami, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, emphasized the groundbreaking nature of the initiative and its significant impact on revenue generation. He underscored the importance of the VAT DIRECT Initiative in tackling the issue of multiple taxations, particularly within the informal sector.
Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, unveils MATAN identity card at the stakeholder engagement meeting in Lagos. 21st June 2023.
The Executive Chairman of the FIRS, who is also the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), stated further that the government is concerned about the multiplicity of taxes, and that the Service and JTB were working on various modalities to address this challenge, and that this partnership has laid a very good foundation for the government to address the issue of multiple taxation and extortion by tax officials, tax agents, and touts in the market place.
He also stated that the Service would work with security authorities, particularly the Nigeria Police, to combat unlawful tax collection by touts in markets.