FG Gazettes Regulation On Withhold­ing Tax, Implementation To Begin Jan 1

The Federal Gov­ernment has gazetted the regula­tion on Withholding Tax (WHT), setting the implementation date to January 1, 2025.

The Chairman of the Pres­idential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on his offi­cial X-handle on Wednesday.

He said, “The deduction of tax at source (Withholding) Regula­tions, 2024, has been published in the official gazette.

“The commencement date of the new regulations is 30th Sep­tember, 2024, while implementation begins on 1st January 2025 to allow for a minimum of 90 days notice re­quired for tax changes in line with the 2017 National Tax Policy.”

According to Oyedele, the reg­ulations grant rates reduction and full exemption from withholding tax to many businesses, including SMEs with annual turnover not exceeding N25 million.

He stated, however, that there was a provision permitting the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with the approval of Fi­nance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to issue guidelines for the implementation of the regula­tions and, where appropriate, permit early application of the regulations from July 1, 2024.

“The essence of this provision is to enable persons who wish to adopt the regulations early to do so given that it is generally pro­viding reliefs to businesses rath­er than imposing a burden,” he explained.

In July, the Federal Govern­ment approved the Oyedele-led committee’s recommendations on the exemption of withholding tax for small businesses, manu­facturers, and farmers.

The recommendations were part of the ongoing fiscal policy and tax reforms, setting a new withholding tax regime for the country.