The Federal Inland Revenue Service FIRS has extended the deadline for companies’ filing of income tax returns for the 2022 Year of Assessment, which expired on June 30, 2022. The new deadline is August 31, 2022, for companies who were unable to meet up with the deadline as at the end of June.

Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, who announced this extension in a statement, noted that the decision to extend the deadline was taken after receiving numerous calls from companies for the extension of time to enable them submit the Companies Income Tax (CIT) returns for 2022 year of assessment falling due on 30th June 2022.

The statement also said that as a measure of goodwill of the service and in line with relevant provisions of the Companies Income Tax Act, and has directed that all companies whose Income Tax returns for 2022 Year Of Assessment that fell due between 30th June and 31st August, 2022 (both days inclusive), were given up to 31st August, 2022 to submit their returns to the Service.

The statement reads in part: “The extension is a one-off gesture by the Service for only the 2022 Year of Assessment on Company Income Tax Returns and that companies which filed within this period of extension would not be subject to late filing penalty or interest for late payment.

“The relevant Company Income Tax returns shall, therefore, not attract Late Filing Penalty or interest for late payment if submitted to the Service on or before 31st August 2022;

“Where relevant Company Income Tax returns are not filed by the extended date, penalty and interest for late payment shall be computed from the original due date and not the extended date.

“This extension of filing date is only for CIT and does not include returns for withholding tax, value added tax VAT, personal income tax PAYE, etcetera.”

Nami however explained that the extension only applies to the filing of Companies Income Tax Returns but does not extend to other taxes.

The Service also called on the relevant taxpayers to take the opportunity of this extension to submit their Companies Income Tax Returns and pay their due taxes within the specified time of extension.