Kehinde Fajobi
Zaccheus Adedeji, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has stressed the need to rename the agency as the Nigeria Revenue Service, explaining that its current title no longer reflects its full scope of operations.
Speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Wednesday, Adedeji stated that the existing name limits the perception of the agency’s powers and functions.
“We are called the Federal Inland Revenue Service as though we only collect revenue for the federal government or within Nigeria,” Adedeji said.
“That was the case when the service was established, but today, one of the revenues we collect is Value Added Tax (VAT), and 85 per cent of this VAT goes to the states. Therefore, our name no longer accurately reflects our operations.”
He further explained that the term “inland” is outdated, as the agency now collects revenue from outside Nigeria as well.
“Today, we collect online charges for Jumia, Google, and others. As the Nigeria Revenue Service, we can collect any revenue, whether from within Nigeria or outside,” he added.
The name change, they say, is part of broader tax reform efforts by President Bola Tinubu, who recently submitted four bills to the National Assembly. One of these, the Nigeria Revenue Service Act, repeals the FIRS Act and introduces the name change.
The other bills are the Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill.
During the hearing, some lawmakers expressed concerns that the reforms could render other revenue collection agencies redundant.
Adedeji, however, reassured them that the new bills do not intend to merge agencies or impose new taxes. He clarified that the changes are only aimed at streamlining the revenue collection process.