The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) yesterday visited the headquarters of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) with a call on freight forwarders to take advantage of the nine months grace period given by the federal government to regularize their tax status.
The Lagos State Coordinator of FIRS, Mrs. Toluwalase Apomedai who led some management staff of the agency to the association said the visit was aimed at sensitizing and enlightening the freight forwarders on the scheme and its benefits for members.
She maintained that those who keyed into the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration (VAID) scheme and voluntarily declare their income and assets which hitherto was not declared stand the opportunity of having their interest payments and penalties pardoned as well as escape prosecution and tax audit.
According to her,”We came to sensitize NAGAFF members about their responsibility as to tax payment and what government is offering in terms of voluntary declaration of asset and income scheme, the advantage of coming over to FIRS to register for the different taxes.
“Government has given a time up to next year, after that period, whoever does not come forward to declare voluntarily whatever income they have might meet with enforcement because government already has the data that can be used against anybody that has not come voluntarily to declare.
“The waivers we gave is that there will be no prosecution, no interest payment, no tax audit but after March, 2018, if we have to come and tell you that these are the incomes that you have not declared on your own, penalties will be charged and you will see the wrong side of the law”.
She therefore warned that those who fail to come forward to register with FIRS within the stipulated time frame would face the full wrath of the law.
Earlier in his welcome address, the National President of NAGAFF, Chief Increase Uche pledged the support of the association to the FIRS in the ongoing drive to recover taxes due to the government assuring that the association would educate members to key into the scheme.
Uche pointed out that NAGAFF had been an advocate of due process and would always key in and be part of the federal government’s drive to transform the country.
Also speaking, the founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam suggested the setting up of a committee that would comprise of FIRS and NAGAFF which according to him would help develop a system that would create more awareness, build integrity as well as increase the level of compliance among practitioners.
It will be recalled that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo had in June this year signed an Executive Order on Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), offering a nine months grace period to those in default of tax remittances to the federal government to regularize their taxes without penalty.
The scheme which commenced on July 1st, 2017 will end on March 31st, 2018.
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