Companies and statutory bodies that award contracts to unregistered persons will face an administrative penalty of N5 million under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA).
The Act provides that any taxable person who fails or refuses to register for tax will be liable to a penalty of N50,000 for the first month of default and N25,000 for each subsequent month the failure continues.
It further states that any statutory body or company that awards a contract to an unregistered individual or entity will be required to pay an administrative penalty of N5 million.
The law also prescribes sanctions for failure to file tax returns or for deliberately submitting incomplete or inaccurate information. Such defaulters will pay N100,000 in the first month of default and N50,000 for every additional month the default persists.
Under the Act, a person who refuses to grant the relevant tax authority access to deploy approved technology after 30 days of receiving notice will be fined N1 million on the first day of default and N10,000 for each additional day the refusal continues.
The NTAA also stipulates that any taxable person who fails to process a taxable supply through the fiscalisation system will be liable to an administrative penalty of N200,000, in addition to 100 per cent of the tax due and interest calculated at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Rate per annum.
In addition, the law provides that any person required to collect, deduct or withhold tax who fails to do so will incur an administrative penalty of 40 per cent of the amount not deducted or withheld.
A further penalty of N1 million applies to any person who fails to make the required tax attribution or notify the relevant tax authority after making such attribution.
The Act also states that a person convicted of an offence under its provisions may face imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of not less than the principal tax amount due plus a penalty of up to 50 per cent of that sum, or both.
