The Federal Government had said that the VAT increase was meant to help in achieving its revenue projections for the 2020 budget to finance key projects especially in the areas of health, education and critical infrastructure.

While speaking during a breakfast programme on the Nigerian Television Authority on Friday, January 31, 2020, Mohammed Nami, the Executive Chairman of the FIRS encouraged businesses to register with the FIRS for VAT purpose, adding that any business that failed to obey the tax law would face the wrath of the tax authorities, Punch reports. 

“It’s your statutory responsibility whether you just registered today with Corporate Affairs Commission to come over to the Federal Inland Revenue to register as VAT agent. That is the first responsibility.

“The second responsibility is that you should keep good record of your transaction because if you don’t keep good records and eventually during the compliance process and monitoring process it is discovered that you have traded well above N25m, the taxes will be paid in arrears,” he said.

Nami said the VAT act already exempts pharmaceuticals, educational items, and basic commodities.

He added that food items like brown and white bread; cereals including maize, rice, wheat, millet, barley and sorghum and fish of all kinds are also exempted in the VAT act.