Facebook has asked Nigerian advertisers on its platform to update their Value Added Tax (VAT) records on the site on or before February 25, 2022, to avoid the risk of not having their adverts displayed on the platform.
The request came after Federal Government resolved to tax foreign-based social media platforms that earn money from Nigerian advertisers.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari sent the Finance Bill 2021 to the National Assembly on December 7, 2021, and one of the major highlights of the bill is the aspect which empowers the Federal Inland Revenues Service (FIRS) to evaluate non-resident organizations like Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Netflix and tax them on revenuer earned from digital services offered to Nigerian customers.
While responding last year, Facebook announced that every advertiser from Nigeria would pay an extra 7.5 percent VAT on ad placement from January 1, 2022.
In an effort to comply with the government regulation, Facebook’s parent company, Meta, also requested that its Nigerian customers carry out basic requirements to help its compliance.
In a statement, Meta urged Nigerian customers to update their Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) by February 25.
The company said recent updates were made to allow some Nigerian customers to provide 11 or 12 digit Tax Identification Numbers to pay the 7.5 percent charge.
Also, it added that those who already have their TIN can easily use receipts for other paid taxes.