The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on 29 June 2017 signed an Executive Order backing the implementation of the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), which will take effect from 1 July 2017 and last till 31 March 2018. The scheme will be jointly executed by the Federal and State Governments and will cover both corporate and individual taxpayers.

The Order is pursuant to the approval-in-principle granted by the National Executive Council in respect of the implementation of VAIDS earlier in the year. Please refer to our alert in this regard.

The Government expects to raise at least $1billion in tax revenues through VAIDS. It also aims to increase tax awareness and compliance, and reduce incidence of tax evasion, in Nigeria. Under the scheme, taxpayers will be given a time-limited opportunity to regularise their tax status without incurring any penalties.

At the formal launch, the Acting President also declared every Thursday as "Tax Thursday", to enlighten Nigerians on their tax obligations. Further, he also announced that Nigeria is now party to the new global standard on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), which will take effect from 2018 and would facilitate apprehension of tax evaders.

With this development, taxpayers need to perform tax compliance health checks to evaluate their potential tax exposure and settle any outstanding taxes due.

We will continue to monitor developments in this space and update you as further information become available.

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