The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it has stopped the issuance of tax exemption certificates to all categories of taxpayers, including pioneer status companies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and entities operating in free trade zones.
In a public notice issued by FIRS, the tax authority said the decision is part of ongoing efforts to ensure transparency and adherence to existing tax laws.
“The issuance of Tax Exemption Certificates has been discontinued. Consequently, no further Tax Exemption Certificates will be issued,” the statement read.
FIRS noted that exemption certificates that have already been issued remain valid until their expiry date.
However, the agency said no renewals will be granted once they lapse.
The agency warned that going forward, all claims for tax benefits or exemptions must strictly comply with applicable laws and follow procedures approved by FIRS.
“Any attempt to forge, alter, or misrepresent exemption status will attract strict penalties prescribed by the laws,” the tax authority said.
FIRS added that it remains committed to building a fair and transparent tax system, and called on all affected stakeholders to align with the revised procedures and legal obligations.
“All further enquiries on the above subject should be addressed to the executive chairman,” the notice added.
On July 22, the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Zacch Adedeji, said Nigeria loses billions annually due to aggressive tax avoidance by multinationals, which undermines governance, erodes trust, and affects infrastructure, public services, and inequality.
Tax exemption policy was introduced to incentivize businesses that were considered strategic in given environments, especially those that are given to producing for exports to improve foreign exchange earnings. The same consideration also applied to others that required long gestation periods before breaking even.
It is expected that before the freeze is lifted, necessary steps would be taken to streamline the exemption policy so as to address observed lapses in the measure when it lasted.
