Nigeria: Tax Ombud Resolves 22 Complaints, Plans 57 Desk Offices to Speed Process

What the report says

Nigeria’s Office of the Tax Ombud says it has cleared at least 22 of the 33 complaints it has received so far, and is moving to open about 57 desk offices across states and revenue agencies to speed up responses to taxpayer disputes. The update was given by the Ombud and Chief Executive, Dr. John Nwabueze, in Abuja, as reported by Leadership and distributed by AllAfrica.

Nwabueze said the main bottleneck is the time lost while letters move between taxpayers, the ombud’s office and tax authorities. He said the process can consume much of the 14-day period allowed under the law for handling complaints, forcing the office to use an additional seven days in some cases. The planned desk offices are intended to allow communication and case handling in real time, rather than through slower correspondence.

According to the report, the proposed network would include the 36 state internal revenue services, the Federal Capital Territory revenue service and other revenue-generating agencies. The complaints received so far have come from several states and the FCT and largely concern documentation, tax procedures and assessments. Nwabueze also said awareness of the office remains limited, so the agency is using media outreach and public events to publicize its free services.

He added that a taxpayers’ charter is nearly ready and will be issued in Nigerian languages, while funding arrangements are shifting from a presidential take-off grant to National Assembly appropriations from January. The initiative matters because it is meant to reduce the need for court action and make tax dispute resolution faster and more accessible.