The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU], to boost revenue collection at the nation’s free trade zone areas across the country. Speaking at the signing ceremony recently in Abuja, NEPZA Managing Director, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba said the MOU only aims at unbundling and strengthening existing tax schedules for compliance purposes in line with Section 19 of the NEPZA Act. According to him, section 19 of the ACT mandates free zones enterprises to file returns for statistical data, as such information makes public the records of sales, purchases and other key operations of the enterprises as the Authority may require from time to time in line with the Act. He stated: “The importance of the country’s zone scheme in growing the nation’s economy cannot be over emphasized, suffice to say that the authority has through the management of the zones, attracted a cumulative investment of over $22 billion and generated over N40 billion as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Nigeria.’’
