Nigerian Free Zones : Still Bound by the Taxman’s Net?

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (“FIRS”) has recently issued a public notice requiring all enterprises registered and operating in Export Processing and Oil and Gas Free Zones in Nigeria (“Free Zones”) to prepare and file income tax returns in accordance with Sections 58 and 59 of the Finance Act, 2020 (the “Finance Act”) (the “Public Notice”)1. In this briefing, we provide our commentary on the erstwhile tax compliance regime applicable to Free Zones and highlight the new reporting obligations required of Approved Enterprises within Free Zones.