By Lawani Mikairu

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS , and Pedabo Professional Services have expressed concerns over the impacts of multiplicity of charges, levies, and taxes in the shipping and aviation sectors, stressing that there was need to address the situation for the sectors to grow.

Speaking at an event in Lagos to address multiplicity of charges by the federal government, the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami said the Federal Government should ” block leakages in the accounting and revenue segments of the economy through consolidated accounting mechanism and a single revenue authority.”

Existing gaps, according to  him, “provides run for leakages and limits revenue and accounting potentials.

He also said there was need to ” consolidate or aggregate the country’s accounting mechanism to ensure taxes paid are accounted for by a single revenue authority in the country”.

He added that the development would ensure that taxes collected on behalf of the government are remitted to fund budgetary allocations, social amenities as well as critical infrastructure.

In his contribution, the Managing Partner, Pedabo, Ajibade Fashina said the shipping and aviation sector can leapfrog contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Fashina said that adopting same presumptive tax rate of six percent as in other industries may be counter-productive in the shipping and aviation sectors, adding that ” consolidation of accounting mechanism as well as a single revenue authority remain sacrosanct for the country”.

He also said that challenges plaguing the industry were man made”.

“The Finance Act that is being reviewed on a yearly basis. They (FIRS) identify the leakages and loopholes, and they are blocking those loopholes, and that is what should be done.

“Maybe government needs to think more around what the money is being used for. Who is collecting what? Why are so many of those funds, which more or less, form part of the revenue not going into the national purse? I think those are issues that need to be addressed,” Fashina added.

With disputes on shipping and airline taxation between the Federal Government and some operators, a Partner at Pedabo, Killian Khanoba, stated that “Nigeria is not alone in the practice of exerting tax on container leasing and ancillary revenues. The dispute with the international lines on the matter is also not isolated to Nigeria.”

With over 16 agencies in the sea and air ports in the country, Khanoba noted that shipping and aviation must not be treated with levity to attract flow of capital, goods and services.

He said: “Aviation and shipping sectors in Nigeria are characterized by multiplicity of charges, levies and taxes payable by operators. This must be addressed for the sector to grow. The Nigerian tax regime for the sectors obviously needs a makeover, to guarantee growth.”

Speaking also at the event,  the Managing Consultant at Pedabo, Albert Folorunsho noted that the Federal government needs to include in extant regulations issues related to taxation for shipping companies operating within or around the country to simplify collection.

He noted that the country may be losing a lot of money by lack of clarity around the operations of international shipping vessels that come to lift crude on the sea from the country.