BREAKING: President Tinubu plans to bar Customs, NPA, others from revenue collection

By streamlining the tax collection process, the government aims to ensure that all taxable entities contribute their fair share, maximizing the revenue generated to support public services and infrastructure development.

This policy shift was officially initiated on Thursday when President Tinubu submitted four executive bills to the National Assembly for consideration.

Nigeria currently grapples with a revenue challenge affecting all levels of government, with a goal to achieve a minimum tax-to-GDP ratio of 18 percent.

The country’s tax-to-GDP ratio is notably below the African average and ranks among the lowest globally, contributing to ongoing fiscal deficits and a heavy reliance on borrowing to finance public expenditures.

One of the key proposals in the executive bills includes renaming the Federal Inland Revenue Service to the Nigeria Revenue Service.

However, sources within the Presidency who spoke with Punch clarified that the new legislation would not involve a merger of existing agencies but instead remove the revenue collection functions from these agencies, reallocating them to the Nigeria Revenue Service.

The source said, “There is no merger of agencies. The bill will only take the revenue collection arm of each agency involved and take it to the Nigerian Revenue Service.

“The plan is that the new revenue agency will be like the US or UK revenue agency that collects all government revenues while other revenue agencies like NIMASA, NPA, Customs, etc, will now focus on their core mandate, which is trade facilitation. There is no merger at all.”

The bill seeking the name change for FIRS was outlined in a letter read by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, during the plenary sessions.