₦airaland Forum

Pls what's different btw LIRS AND FIRS.then which can cover me throughtout federation,for example , i do busines in lagos state and pay tax in lagos, can that cover me every where in nigeria,


LIRS is the state revenue service responsible for Personal income taxes of residents of the state and 'Enterprises' while the FIRS is responsible for taxes from all registered companies and federal taxes from individuals. You need both set of clearances from the LIRS (personal tax clearance) and FIRS (Company tax clearance) the tax you pay in Lagos to the FIRS covers your company throughout the nation while your Personal income tax remitted to the Lagos state government shows you've been paying your taxes in your state of residence - Just in case.

If you are an individual with a registered business name, you only require a tax clearance from LIRS and not the FIRS. Your taxes should go to the LIRS as you are resident in Lagos State and not the FIRS. The only tax that should go to the FIRS is VAT which is not your tax in effect as you are only a collecting agent for government. The FIRS used to issue VAT certificates but havent done so in recent times. The purpose of obtaining a TIN from the FIRS is to facilitate the remittance of VAT collected. YOU DONT NEED AN FIRS TCC. Dont be deceived otherwise.

A TIN can only be issued by the FIRS and not the CAC. the business registration number issued by the CAC is different from the TIN. You can walk into the FIRS office closer to the registered address for the generation of your TIN. However this should be done not later than 6 months from incorporation or commencement of business which ever is earlier. You will then be required to file monthly VAT returns even without any trading. Failure to do so would lead to the imposition of penalties and interest thereon. For a TCC, its issuance is free if all conditions are satisfied. For a company yet to commence business, one of the conditions is the payment of a pre-operational levy of 25K for the first year and 20k in subsequent years.

Please note that the above payment only applies to registered companies. Registered business names (individuals, partnerships) do not need to obtain TCC from the FIRS but the state board of internal revenue where they are located. For more information you can contact me on topdogs85@yahoo.com