Section 65 — Penalty and interest for non-payment of tax

(1) Subject to section 67 of this Act, where any tax is not paid within the period prescribed under this Act—

(a) a sum equal to ten percent of the amount of the tax payable shall be added thereto, and the provisions of this Act relating to the collection and recovery of tax shall apply to the collection and recovery of the sum;

(b) in the case of naira remittances, the tax due shall carry interest at the prevailing monetary policy rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria plus spread to be determined by the Minister from the date when the tax becomes payable until it is paid, and the provisions of this Act relating to collection and recovery of tax shall apply to the collection and recovery of the interest; and

(c) in the case of foreign currency remittance, the tax due shall incur interest at the prevailing Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) or any successor rate, plus spread to be determined by the Minister from the date when the tax becomes payable until it is paid, and the provisions of this Act relating to collection and recovery of tax shall apply to the collection and recovery of the interest.

(2) The relevant tax authority shall serve a demand notice upon the company or person in whose name a tax is chargeable and where payment is not made within 30 days from the date of the service of such demand notice, the relevant tax authority may proceed to enforce payment under this Act.

(3) The penalty and interest imposed under this subsection shall not be deemed to be part of the tax paid for the purpose of claiming relief under any of the provisions of this Act or any other tax law.