Section 147 — Interpretation

In this Act—

“Advance Ruling” means any ruling issued by the tax authority in respect of any disputed or controversial tax matter to the taxpayers in accordance with provision of this Act, the Nigeria Tax Act or any other tax law enacted by the National Assembly, or any written opinion or decision issued to a taxpayer by the relevant tax authority on a transaction, proposed transaction or any tax matter with a view to providing direction or clarification in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

“Agency of Government” includes a Ministry, department, statutory body, public authority or any institution of the Federal, State, or Local Government;

“Agreement” means mutual understanding, arrangement, undertaking, or memorandum, between a taxpayer and any third party which may have tax implications;

“Assessable Income” has the same meaning under the Nigeria Tax Act;

“Assessable Profit” has the same meaning under the Nigeria Tax Act;

“Authority Officer” means any person employed in the service of the relevant tax authority or, for the time being, performing duties in relation to tax who has been specifically authorised by the Board or the Chief Executive Officer to perform or carry out specific functions under this Act, the Nigeria Tax Act or any other tax law enacted by the National Assembly or the State House of Assembly;

“Board” means the Board of the relevant tax authorities established under this Act;

“Book” includes any register, document or other records of information and any account or accounting record however compiled, recorded or stored, whether in written or printed form or micro-film, digital, magnetic or electronic form or otherwise;

“Business” includes any economic activity such as trade, commerce, manufacturing, service or any activity carried out for the purpose of earning income;

“Calendar year” means a period of 12 months commencing from 1 January and ending 31 December;

“Chief Executive Officer” means the chief executive officer of the relevant tax authority;

“Commencement of Business” means the date that an entity carries out its first transaction, which shall be the earlier of the date that the business or person—

(a) begins to market or first advertises its products or services for sale;

(b) obtains an operating licence from a regulatory authority in Nigeria;

(c) makes first sale or purchase;

(d) executes its first trading contract after complying with incorporation or regulatory processes;

(e) issues or receives its first invoice;

(f) delivers or receives its first consignment of goods; or

(g) first renders services to its customers;

“Commissioner” means the commissioner charged with responsibility of finance in a State in Nigeria;

“Company” means a company as defined under the Companies and Allied Matters Act and a corporate body that may be formed under any other written law and includes any association, whether incorporated in or outside Nigeria;

“Dispute” means a disagreement on the interpretation of either the relevant facts or law or both, which arises under the issuance of an assessment, action or decision of either the tax authority or taxpayer;

“Distrain” means to seize a taxable person’s property, goods, chattels, bonds or other securities in order to collect and recover unpaid tax in accordance with this Act and the Nigeria Tax Act;

“Document” includes any record of information evidencing a transaction, supporting accounts or schedules, accounting or inventory ledger, including reports, agreements, correspondences, memoranda, minutes of meeting, or any such record however compiled, recorded or stored, whether written or printed or micro-film, digital, magnetic, electronic or optical form or otherwise, and all types of information stored in digital devices, computer or any other similar equipment;

“Electronic or digital activities” means the receipt, emission or transmission of signals, sounds, messages, images or data of any kind by cable, radio, electromagnetic systems or any other electronic or wireless apparatus in respect of any commerce, trade or activity, including electronic commerce, application store, high frequency trading, electronic data storage, online adverts, participative network platform, online gaming, cloud computing, online teaching services, digital content services, supply of user data, search engines or online payments;

“Employee of the tax authority” includes the Chief Executive Officer or other members of staff and those employed to carry out specific functions and may include board members of a relevant tax authority;

“Employment” includes any appointment or office, whether public or otherwise, for which remuneration is payable;

“Executor” includes any person administering the estate of a deceased person;

“Entertainer, Sportsperson, or competitor Fees” includes payments in respect of appearance, performance, royalties, sponsorship, endorsement, advertising or related payments;

“Foreign Company” means any company other than a Nigerian Company;

“Goods” means all forms of tangible properties, movable or immovable;

“Government” means the Federal, State, the Federal Capital Territory or Local Government Council and shall include, as the case may be, any agency of Government;

“Gross Income” means total income of an individual in any particular year of assessment from all sources, ascertained under the provisions of this Act;

“High Court” means the Federal High Court or High Court of the State or Federal Capital Territory;

“Importer” means any person who imports taxable goods from another country;

“Invoice” means any document issued as evidence of supply of goods or services, or demand for payment for goods or services supplied;

“Individual” includes a corporation sole and a body of individuals but does not include a company, partnership, community, family, trustee or executor, or any body of trustees or executors;

“Manufacturer” means any person who engages in the manufacture of goods and includes a person who has manufactured for his own account, or on whose behalf other persons have manufactured goods made to his specification or design;

“Manufacturing” means the process by which a commodity is finally produced, including assembling, bottling, repacking, mixing, blending, grinding, cutting, bending, twisting and joining or any other similar process;

“Minister” means the Minister charged with the responsibility for matters relating to finance;

“Nigeria” for the purpose of this Act, means the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and when used in a geographical sense, includes the territorial waters of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and any area outside the territorial waters, including the continental shelf, which in accordance with international law has been or may hereafter be designated, under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as an area within which the right of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with respect to the seabed, its subsoil, its superjacent waters and their natural resources may be exercised now and in the future;

“Nigeria Company” means—

(a) any company formed or incorporated under any law in Nigeria; or

(b) any company whose effective place of management or control is Nigeria, provided that the Minister may by regulations prescribe what constitutes effective place of management or control;

“Officer” means any person employed in the relevant tax authority to carry out the tax administration functions under this Act;

“Person” includes individuals, body of individuals, executor, trustee, family, community, a company or body corporate, corporation sole and any unincorporated body of persons, including a trust or any legal arrangement;

“President” means the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

“Private dwelling” means any building or part of a building occupied as residential accommodation, including any garage, shed and other building used in connection therewith;

“Registration” means action or process of registering or of being registered for tax purposes in accordance with this Act;

“Registered Person” means any person registered for the purpose of tax compliance under this Act or any other tax law;

“Relevant tax authority” means Nigeria Revenue Service, the Internal Revenue Service of a State or the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria;

“Service” means the Nigeria Revenue Service established by the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act;

“Settlement” means amicable resolution of dispute in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

“Small Business” means a business that earns gross turnover of ₦100,000,000.00 or less per annum with total fixed assets not more than ₦250,000,000.00 provided that any business providing professional services shall not be classified as a small business;

“Special Purpose Tax Officer” means specially designated tax officers for the purpose of tax investigation and enforcement who shall be appointed from time to time and shall have the powers of Police Officers;

“Supply” means any transaction where the whole property in the goods is transferred or where the agreement expressly contemplates that this will happen and in particular includes the sale and delivery of goods or services used outside the business, the letting out of goods on hire or leasing and any disposal of goods or furnishing of services;

“Stamp Duty” means a duty levied on dutiable instruments under this Act, the Nigeria Tax Act or any other laws;

“Tax” includes any duty, levy or other revenue accruable to the Government in full or in part under this Act, the Nigeria Tax Act or any other law;

“Tax Agent” means any person acknowledged and duly certified by a professional body in Nigeria to represent the taxable person;

“Tax Authority” means the Nigeria Revenue Service, or the Revenue Authority of a State or the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria;

“Taxable Goods and Services” is as defined in Part IV of Chapter 7 of Nigeria Tax Act;

“Taxable Person” means person who carries out economic activity in a place or a person exploiting tangible or intangible property for the purpose of obtaining income therefrom by way of trade or business, or an agency of Government acting in that capacity;

“tax return” means a form or any other document filed with a relevant tax authority that reports transactions, income, expenses and any other relevant information as may be prescribed by relevant tax authority from time to time;

“Taxpayer Information” includes—

(a) any information received or generated by a relevant tax authority with respect to a taxpayer pursuant to its powers under this Act or any other tax law,

(b) any information in any form received, accessed or produced by the Service under any agreement or arrangement with any country, government or tax authority, such as Double Taxation Agreements, Tax Information Exchange Agreements, and Common Reporting Standard, Country-by-Country Reporting or any other exchange of information agreement or arrangement, and

(c) written or electronic documents, returns, assessments, lists and copies of such lists relating to profits or items of profits of any person or to such matter which forms the basis of any agreement or arrangement with any country, government or tax authority; and

“Transaction at Arm’s Length” means a related party transaction conducted on normal open market commercial terms.