ARTICLE
10 December 2014

Court Of Appeal Upturns The Decision Of Federal High Court On The Deductibility Of Expenses By Non Resident Companies Under The Deemed Profit Basis

PN
PwC Nigeria

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PwC Nigeria is one of the leading professional services ?rms in Nigeria with of?ces in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, with over 1,000 staff and 31 resident partners. We are committed to serving as a force for integrity, good sense and wise solutions to the problems facing businesses and the capital markets. We are guided by one promise – to do what is right, be it with our people, clients, community, or environment.
We understand that the Court of Appeal has reversed the long standing decision of the Federal High Court (FHC) regarding the treatment of sub-contracting expenses in the determination of deemed profit of a non resident company.
Nigeria Tax

We understand that the Court of Appeal has reversed the long standing decision of the Federal High Court (FHC) regarding the treatment of sub-contracting expenses in the determination of deemed profit of a non resident company.

The FHC had ruled in a case between the FIRS and Haliburton to the effect that payments by the foreign entity to a Nigerian subcontractor should not be included in the turnover of the foreign entity used in calculating deemed profit tax. This was on the basis that doing so will amount to double taxation since the income will also be taxed as income in the hands of the local entity. Under the deemed profit basis, 20% of the turnover of a foreign company is deemed to be profit taxable at the corporate income tax rate of 30% resulting in an effective rate of 6% on turnover.

This new judgement will have implications for foreign companies with subcontracting arrangements in Nigeria especially if the judgement is applied retrospectively. It is important to note that the FIRS now requires that tax returns be filed based on actual profits.

Watch this space for further updates on this new development.

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