Tax & Business Matters - Nigeria

Proposed Changes to the Foreign Exchange Regime in Nigeria

A Foreign Exchange (Control and Monitoring) Bill 2016 has recently passed second reading at the National Assembly. The Bill seeks to repeal the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (“FEMMPA”) 1995, the principal law regulating Nigeria’s foreign exchange regime.

The key changes include:

1. granting of more powers to the CBN to regulate the forex market without requiring any approval from the finance minister;
2. regulation of foreign currency transactions performed in a foreign country which will have effect in Nigeria;
3. requirement to obtain certificate of capital importation within 48 hours (currently 24 hours); and
4. prohibition of payments in foreign currency for goods and services in Nigeria.

Read our alert for further details. A copy of the Bill is also available below.

Download PwC Regulatory Alert_Forex Bill

Download Foreign Exchange (Control and Monitoring) Bill 2016

 

 

Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS)

The National Executive Council [NEC] recently approved in principle, the implementation of a Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS). The Scheme is expected to come into effect from May 2017 once formal guidelines have been issued.

The Scheme encourages voluntary disclosure of previously undisclosed assets and income for the purpose of payment of all outstanding tax liabilities. The Scheme will offer a limited waiver for declaration within the specified period of time.

Read our alert below for further details.

Download PwC Tax Alert_Voluntary Assets and Income Disclosure Scheme

The federal government of Nigeria has reviewed immigration procedures

As part of Nigeria’s drive to improve the ease of doing business, the Nigeria immigration service (NIS) has announced some changes to immigration procedures including:

1. expansion of the scope of activities that can be carried out on a business visa;
2. reduced the approval period for visa on arrival;
3. opening of a new production centres for residence permits; and
4. decentralised the reissuance of missing passports or those requiring biodata changes.

Read our alert for more details.

Download PwC Tax Alert_Nigeria reviews immigration procedures

NSITF and NECA agree the basis for employee compensation contributions

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) recently entered into an agreement with the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on the basis for calculating contributions under the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA) 2010.

The ECA was signed into law in January 2011 and gazetted in July 2011. This had caused a controversy in the past with respect to the effective date for the commencement of the law. NSITF and NECA had previously agreed to a forbearance of outstanding contributions for the period from 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2011 for members of NECA.

To further clarify issues around the interpretation of the ECA, NSITF and NECA recently entered into a new agreement effective from 1 January 2017.

Read our alert for details.

Download Tax Alert -NECA and NSITF Agreement_March 2017

Highlights of the Changes to Company Incorporation Process in Nigeria

In response to Nigeria’s poor performance in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, the Federal government in August 2016 set up the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (“PEBEC or the Committee”). The mandate of the Committee is to, among other things, streamline the process of setting up a company and generally make it easier to do business in Nigeria.

At a recent forum organised by PEBEC, some changes to the process of company incorporation were announced. These include:

1. Single form for Incorporation
2. Self-service
3. Decentralised registration
4. Online search; and
5. Electronic stamping and Tax Identification Number

We commend the efforts of the government and encourage investors to take advantage of these initiatives while government should extend the improvements to other areas such as post-incorporation compliance. All the processes including information requirements should be further simplified to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness.

For further details, see our alert below:

Download PwC Regulatory Alert_Changes to Incorporation Process_March 2017