Prosecution in Criminal Tax Proceeding in Nigeria, Legal Challenges

• Main Author: Rita Dashe Selkur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG 2020-01-01
• Series: KAS African Law Study Library
• Online Access: https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2363-6262-2019-4-523

Tax, being a compulsory exertion by government on the citizen, is regulated by statute in which case citizens are to comply with. It is a strict liability offence which if it is demanded that you have not paid, the defence is for you to show you have paid. Be it an individual or corporate body. The concept of prosecution in Taxation in Nigeria is roughly captured by the FIRS ACT for the Federal government and the SIRB Law for the various States, including the TAT ACTS as an undertaking in the progressive development and reform of the substantive and applicable laws in Nigeria to be on the same page with the developed countries. Where there is an offence, the law proscribes for penalty which could be in terms of fines, imprisonment etc. However, some of these offences are sometimes not prosecuted. It is recommended that in order to ensure tax compliance, prosecution of offences should be taken seriously as the outcome of any tax matter affects the behaviour of tax payers wherein, it is taken that the motivation for crime is the criminal’s belief that he can enjoy his loot. I have highlighted the importance and the process in prosecution of Tax offences, the worrying aspect in my humble view in form of the challenges which needs to be considered critically then finally, a pause to rethink and the way forward. Useful materials were gotten from books, journals and the internet.