Senate adopts harmonised tax reform bills

The Senate on Tuesday adopted the harmonised versions of the four tax reform bills proposed by President Bola Tinubu.

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The bills are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, Nigeria Tax Bill 2024 and the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill. They were sent to the National Assembly for consideration last October.

The harmonised versions of the bills were compiled by the conference committee of both chambers of the National Assembly, which reconciled differences in the versions earlier passed separately by each chamber.

Nigerian laws require that both chambers pass the same versions of a bill before it can be transmitted to the president for assent. If there are disparities in any bill passed by the two chambers, a conference committee is constituted to harmonise them, and the chambers will adopt them for final passage.

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The harmonised versions were adopted after a review and debate of the conference committee’s report, presented by its chairman, Sani Musa (APC, Niger East).

While presenting the report, Mr Musa recommended the adoption of specific clauses from the Senate’s version and others from the House of Representatives version of the bills.

For instance, the conference committee adopted several clauses from both chambers in the harmonised Nigeria Tax Administration Bill.

Clause 9 from the House version, which mandates the disclosure of certain financial information by bankers and other financial institutions, was retained. Clause 33, also from the House version, empowered tax agent accreditation, was incorporated.

Clause 45, which outlines the liability of managers or principal officers in tax-related matters, was adopted from the Senate version. Likewise, Clause 78, which grants the president authority to exempt companies from income tax, was accepted. Clause 81 of the House version was also included, detailing the distribution of Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue.

For the Nigerian Revenue Service Establishment Bill, the harmonised version includes Clause 4 from the House version, which outlines the functions of the service. Clause 7 from the Senate version, dealing with the composition of the governing board, was adopted. Clause 16 of the House version, prescribing the process for appointing the executive chairman of the service, was also retained.

Regarding the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, the committee selected Clause 4 from the House version, which defines the board’s composition.

From the Senate version, Clause 5, which outlines the functions of the board, and Clause 10, which specifies the procedure for appointing the Executive Secretary of the board, were adopted.

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However, Bauchi Central Senator Abdul Ningi argued that there is no provision in the Senate rules or the Constitution that allows for a combination of Senate and House versions.

Mr Ningi, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisted that the proper procedure would be for either the Senate or House version to be adopted in its entirety.

In response, Mr Musa clarified that the differences between the two versions were minimal, primarily involving the titles of specific clauses rather than substantive content.

Following the clarification, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, put the adoption of the harmonised versions to a voice vote, and the majority of senators voted in support.

The final versions of the bills will now be transmitted to President Tinubu for assent, after which they will become law.

Earlier, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Senate initially debated and passed the tax reform bills on 7 and 8 May, with some provisions differing from those approved by the House of Representatives. These differences necessitated the setting up of the conference committee.