The Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) has urged the federal government to grant operators in oil and gas free zones a 10-year exemption from the new tax law.
The Managing Director of OGFZA, Bamanga Jada, in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, stated that this would help sustain over $24 billion in investments that have been attracted to the sector.
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He said the proposed exemption would provide operators with the needed transition period to adjust to evolving tax requirements.
While meeting with officials of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and OGFZA licensees in Rivers State, Mr Jada said that many investors planned operations with long-term horizons of 10 to 25 years.
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He said Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones had attracted more than $24 billion in investments, hosted over 200 enterprises, and generated hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
The managing director further stated that policy consistency was crucial for maintaining investor confidence under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, exports from the zones have risen to 496,537,804 metric tonnes under the current administration, supplying markets in Brazil, the United States, France, India, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea.
Mr Jada reaffirmed OGFZA’s readiness to continue collaboration with FIRS to ensure efficient and fair implementation of tax reforms.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Zacch Adedeji, described the 2025 tax reforms as a major step towards modernising Nigeria’s fiscal framework.
The chairman was represented by his Special Adviser on Tax Incentives, Cletus Adie.
Mr Adedeji said the 2025 tax reforms aimed at modernising Nigeria’s fiscal framework, with an emphasis on transparency, accountability, and compliance, rather than taxing profits in free zones.
He said that for export processing and free trade zones, the emphasis of the reforms was on strengthening compliance and ensuring that the zones contributed effectively to national development.
Stakeholders at the meeting unanimously called for the exemption of operators in special economic and free zones from the provisions of the new tax law to enable a smooth adjustment period and safeguard investments.
(NAN)
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