The Tax Appeal Tribunal, Lagos Zone (“TAT” or the “Tribunal”), recently held thatservices which flow from service providers in Nigeria to third parties (such as, persons resident in Nigeria) on behalf of or for the benefit of persons resident outside Nigeria do not constitute exported service for tax purposes in Nigeria.
It also held that a Nigerian resident through whom a nonresident person carries on economic activity in Nigeria for profit-making purposes, is effectively an agent of the non-resident person in Nigeria for tax purposes; and, accordingly, liable to satisfy the tax obligations of that non-resident person in Nigeria.
These landmark decisions were reached in the case of Allan Gray Investment Management Nigeria Limited v Federal Inland Revenue Service (unreported judgment of the TAT delivered on Wednesday, November 13, 2019 in Appeal No. TAT/LZ/VAT/019/2018) (“Allan Gray”).
