FIRS Has Made Significant Progress – IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has examined the ongoing reforms at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and commended the agency for what it described as significant progress in its core duties.

A Senior Economist at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the global body, Paulo Paz, gave the commendation on Wednesday at the opening of the IMF-supported Headquarters Mission at the Revenue House in Abuja.

Paz said the IMF recognised the “good work that FIRS has been providing to the citizens” under its chairman, Zacch Adedeji, adding that the Bretton institution would continue to support the agency in delivering effective tax administration for the country’s growth and development.

A statement by Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, said the mission of the IMF team to Nigeria was to explore areas the organisation could further support the agency in addressing the challenges that might arise, particularly with the recently signed tax laws.

According to him, the new tax laws will impact Nigeria.

“And we want to know best how to support you with this new challenge. Our take on the four tax laws first recognises the excellent work that FIRS has been providing to the citizens.

“You have, at the same time, the recognition and new responsibilities associated with these compelling laws, which will increase the relevance of the tax administration in Nigeria.

“I want to express our honour of being here and being a partner of FIRS. Thank you for your trust in our advice. We congratulate you on the good results so far. There is more to come, and we are here to help,” he said.

Adedeji, while welcoming the visitors, applauded the IMF for journeying with the tax body, saying that the relationship would continue when the agency transitions to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) next year.

Adedeji, represented by his Chief of Staff, Tayo Koleosho, specifically lauded the IMF’s collaboration with FIRS in portfolio management and compliance programmes.

“The IMF has gone on this journey with us, and I think we are in a good place to continue the journey together. We are working together on digital transformation and VAT automation, and we are even looking at the compliance programme and the ability to automate some of those things.

“I am interested in corporate planning and the nexus of data portfolio management so that we can dissolve our strategy into those manageable tasks. Those things must be well.

In her own words, Mrs. Bolaji Akintola, coordinating director of Corporate Services Group, explained that the IMF has been a critical stakeholder in FIRS’ journey towards tax system reforms to improve domestic revenue mobilisation.

She said FIRS, with the support of the IMF, conducted two systemic evaluation exercises using the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) between 2018 and 2023.

“Each of these exercises was followed by a post-TADAT mission where a reform roadmap was developed to address the systemic weaknesses uncovered by the assessment.

“The fact that the results of the 2023 TADAT showed significant improvement on those of 2018 is indicative of the commitment of the Service towards institutional excellence.

“Let me assure you that if another TADAT is conducted today, the result will be better than that of 2023 because a good number of the weak indicators from the 2023 Performance Assessment Report have been addressed and some have been codified in the four tax reform laws recently signed by President Bola Tinubu,” she said.