COMPLIANCE · PENALTIES
Penalties and enforcement
Statutory penalties are fixed by law and no revenue officer may vary them. They are published here in full, because a penalty a taxpayer could not have foreseen is a penalty that has failed at its only purpose.
How penalties work
A penalty is a fixed statutory consequence of a specific failure — a return not filed, a remittance not made, a registration not effected. It is set by the statute that creates the obligation, is the same for every taxpayer in the same position, and cannot be negotiated with an officer. Anybody offering to reduce a statutory penalty in exchange for anything is not exercising a discretion the law gives them.
Interest is different from a penalty. Interest is a time charge for the use of money that should have been the State’s, calculated at the Central Bank monetary policy rate plus five per cent and running from the due date until payment. It accrues daily, so a liability settled promptly after default costs much less than the same liability settled a year later.
The Board may waive a penalty or interest, but only on documented grounds and only through the Board — bereavement, serious illness, a bank failure that can be evidenced, or a Service error. Voluntary disclosure of an unprompted, complete past liability is also a ground on which the Board regularly exercises its discretion.
Penalties under the Personal Income Tax Act
| Failure | Penalty | Interest | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late filing of the individual return of income | ₦5,000, plus ₦100 for each day of continued default | — | s.94 |
| Late filing of the employer annual return (corporate) | ₦500,000 | — | s.81(3) |
| Late filing of the employer annual return (individual employer) | ₦50,000 | — | s.81(3) |
| Failure to deduct PAYE | 10% of the amount not deducted | MPR + 5% from the due date | s.82 |
| Deducting PAYE and failing to remit | 10% of the amount; employer personally liable for the tax | MPR + 5% from the due date | s.82 |
| Late payment of an assessment | 10% of the tax due | MPR + 5% from the due date | s.76 |
| Failure to deduct or remit withholding tax | 10% of the amount; payer personally liable | MPR + 5% from the due date | s.70 |
| Making an incorrect return | The tax undercharged plus double that amount | — | s.95 |
| Making a false statement or return | Fine and/or imprisonment on conviction | — | s.95 |
| Failure to keep records | Assessment on best of judgement; fine on conviction | — | s.54, s.94 |
| Aiding or abetting an offence | Fine and/or imprisonment on conviction | — | s.97 |
Penalties under State law
| Failure | Penalty | Additional consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Carrying on business without registration | ₦50,000 | Payment of all arrears from the date business commenced |
| Operating unregistered business premises | ₦50,000 | Premises may be sealed after notice |
| Failure to remit consumption tax | 10% plus interest | Premises may be sealed after 30 days of default |
| Obstruction of a revenue officer | ₦200,000 | Imprisonment may be ordered on conviction |
| Late payment of land use charge (after 30 June) | 25% of the charge | Rising to 50% after 30 September and 100% thereafter |
| Unauthorised signage or billboard | ₦150,000 | Removal at the advertiser’s cost |
| Building without an approved plan | ₦500,000 | Regularisation charges or a demolition order |
| Indiscriminate refuse disposal (commercial) | ₦100,000 | Environmental restoration order |
| Driving an unlicensed vehicle | ₦25,000 | Plus the outstanding licence fee; vehicle may be impounded |
| Expired roadworthiness certificate | ₦15,000 | Plus the roadworthiness fee |
| Fake, cloned or altered number plate | ₦300,000 | Impoundment and prosecution |
| Vehicle impoundment release | ₦30,000 | Plus ₦2,500 for each day of storage |
| Collecting State revenue without authority | Prosecution | Restitution of all sums collected |
How enforcement escalates
Enforcement is the last stage of a process, not the first. Nothing below happens while a valid objection is pending.
Demand notice
The liability is served, showing the revenue head, the amount, the due date and the payment reference. Thirty days to pay or object.
Reminder and final notice
Sent at fourteen and seven days before the due date, and a final notice after it. Each states the penalty and interest that will apply.
Notice of intention to enforce
Served after the statutory notice period, stating precisely what enforcement action will follow and by what date it can be avoided.
Distraint
Seizure of goods to the value of the debt, on the written authority of the Executive Chairman. Goods are inventoried, stored and may be sold after fourteen days.
Garnishee order
Application to court for an order directing the taxpayer’s bank to pay the established debt from the account.
Sealing of premises
Closure of business premises for persistent default, on the written authority of the Executive Chairman, with the sealing order displayed.
Prosecution
Referral to the Revenue Court for revenue offences. Reserved for wilful evasion, false statements and obstruction rather than inability to pay.
If you cannot pay, say so before the due date
An instalment arrangement applied for before the due date is normally granted over three to six months against a direct debit mandate, and holds enforcement while it is being performed.
Voluntary disclosure of a past liability that the Service had not identified attracts the tax and interest, but the Board regularly waives penalties where the disclosure is complete and unprompted.
What does not work is silence. An assessment that is neither paid nor objected to becomes final and conclusive after thirty days, and at that point the only remaining question is recovery.
Disagree with a penalty?
A penalty may be objected to in writing within thirty days, exactly like an assessment.