Practical Guide On How Business Owners Can Obtain Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) With The F.I.R.S - PART 3
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CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATES (TCC) MAY BE ISSUED BY THE FEDERAL INLAND REVENUE SERVICE (F.I.R.S)

In order to buttress my point, i’m going to share with us three case situations and the practical steps required to obtain company’s Tax Clearance Certificate under each scenario.

Undoubtedly, your case should fall under one of the situations below if you are a company transacting business in Nigeria.

Carefully consider these steps and take them to heart.

The case scenarios under which TCC can be obtained includes:

1. New Tax Payer Status – Assuming you registered or incorporated your business with the CAC in January 2015 and you commenced business immediately in the same year.

2. Assuming you registered your business in 1995 or later but did not commence business immediately until let’s say, 2013.

3. Assuming you registered & commenced business some years back but you are just filing in returns in 2015.


CASE STUDY #1

New Tax Payer Status
Assuming You Registered Your Business In 2015 & Then Commenced Operations The Same Year – How Do I Obtain Tax Clearance Certificate Under This Scenario?

A whole lot of new tax payers fall under this category.

These are business owners who newly incorporated their businesses as a Limited Liability Company with the Corporate Affairs Commission

Before I go further on, i’ll appreciate you to be clear on a few important stuff:

 Before you can start off anything whatsoever with the F.I.R.S, you’d initially have sent in a written application on your company letter head addressed to the Tax Controller of the Integrated Tax Office in your business jurisdiction signed off by the Managing Director of your company.

 A letter appointing a particular firm of Chartered Accountants as your Auditor & Tax Consultant and a letter of acceptance will be submitted as well.

 You’ll attach alongside a copy of your Certificate of Incorporation and Memorandum and Articles of Association popularly known as (MEMAT) to the application.

 Upon submission, these documents will sighted and acknowledged by a member of staff of F.I.R.S vested with the responsibility to do so, thereafter, you will be registered as a “taxpayer” with the F.I.R.S. Once this is perfected you will be told when to come for your Tax Identification Number (TIN).

 Know that you’ll need to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) as well by completing an application for VAT Registration and also accompanying it with a Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum & Articles of Association, Certified True Copy (CTC) of Form CAC 2 & CAC 7.

Once all of the above are taken care of you’re good to go.

If your organization commenced business transaction in 2015 then by default, you are not expected to pay Income & Education Tax yet, though you’ll have to remit VAT on monthly basis. You still have a grace period of 18months or one year & six months after incorporation to file in your returns.

If you want to obtain your TCC, then you’ll have to show verifiable evidence to the tax authorities that you are just commencing business operations.

Your Tax Consultant will formally apply for your Tax Clearance Certificate. In applying for TCC, three copies of the same forms will be filled by your representative and submitted. The copies will be acknowledged and a copy given back to your Tax Consultant.

F.I.R.S will start off the processing of your Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) which will be signed by the Tax Controller of the Integrated Tax Office where you registered as a Taxpayer.

All things being equal, baring any hitch, your Tax Clearance Certificate should be issued to you in a month’s time.

Thereafter, subsequent transactions and correspondences with respect to your tax dealings will be handled in that particular tax office.

(Sidenote: A Tax Consultant who knows the dynamics should help you once you commence your business just so you don’t make costly mistakes that hurts.)

I hope this helps.

Watch out for Part 4 of this series.



Chidera ANELE
Accounting |Tax Solutions| ERP Consultant| Real Estate