The Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique number allocated and issued to identify a person (individual or Company) as a duly registered taxpayer in Nigeria. It is to be used by that taxpayer alone. Registration for tax purposes is a legal obligation of every person who is required to pay tax in Nigeria.
The following necessary details for obtaining and updating TIN should be presented to the tax office nearest to the address of the taxpayer.
OBTAINING TIN
For a Company, Enterprise or Business registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC):
1. Duly completed application form for TIN.
2. Either Certificate of Incorporation (for a company) or Business Name Registration Certificate (for an enterprise) showing clearly the registration number in each case.
3. Documents containing the following information:
•Address of company, enterprise or business
•Principal location of business
•Date of commencement of business
For an Individual who (or whose business) is not registered with the CAC:
1. Duly completed application form for TIN.
2. Any of the following valid identification documents:
•International passport
•National Identity Card
•Staff identity card
•National Driver’s License
The following rules are important:
•All information marked * on the application form must be provided
•(ii) The characters of the name i.e. letters and other symbols constituting the name must not exceed two hundred (200)
•The characters of the address also must not exceed two hundred (200)
•Email address must be unique and active
•Mobile telephone number must be eleven (11) digits e.g. (08763201210).
UPDATING TIN
Updating TIN under the ‘National Single Window’ System is a requirement for taxpayers with incomplete records at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
TIN may be updated at the tax office where it was initially generated by providing the following additional information:
a)Email address
b)Phone number
After updating, the system indicates that “The TIN has been successfully updated”.
The Joint Tax Board TIN (JTB TIN)
It is important for a person to note the following information about the JTB TIN:
1) The JTB TIN is designed to subsequently replace the current TIN and is already in use within FIRS and several other states of Nigeria.
2) The JTB TIN has ten (10) digits, it is uniform and general across Nigeria. It is unique for every registered taxpayer in Nigeria and not limited to FIRS taxpayers alone.
3) The JTB TIN is presently being issued at the point of registration and also updated by FIRS and the states which have so far adopted it;
4) Every taxpayer in Nigeria will ultimately be required to possess and use only the JTB TIN.
VALIDATING TIN
TIN validation is the process of confirming that the updated TIN meets the necessary conditions for transacting business with other organisations such as Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Central Bank of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, etc.
A taxpayer can validate his/her TIN directly on the FIRS Trade Portal i.e. www.trade.gov.ng/firs by following the simple procedure below:
i. Enter the TIN and the same email address that was provided to the tax office when updating.
ii. Next, enter the security word (captcha) and click on “Validate”.
iii. If the validation is successful, the following confirmation notice shall be displayed:
“Register with NCS – Done”.
iv. Then an automatic email notification from “Nigeria Single Window” with a log-in password and instruction on how to complete the registration process would be sent to the taxpayer’s email address.
v. Upon completing the validation exercise, an email will automatically be sent to the email address provided confirming successful validation. A taxpayer should therefore check the email.
AUTHENTICATING TIN
This is for the taxpayer to re-confirm his/her updated and validated TIN.
A taxpayer experiencing difficulty in validating TIN (receiving error messages) should seek professional assistance from the tax office or send an email to: tinupdate@firs.gov.ng
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