The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to immediately extend the deadline for filing Company Income Tax (CIT) returns by one month following widespread technical failures on the newly introduced Rev360 tax portal that disrupted filings on the statutory June 30 deadline.
The Chamber also urged the tax authority to waive all penalties for companies that were unable to complete their filings due to the system outage, insisting that businesses should not be punished for failures beyond their control.
Its Director-General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, the LCCI described the disruption as a platform failure rather than taxpayer negligence, noting that thousands of companies were unable to file their tax returns after the Rev360 platform experienced prolonged downtime during the final hours leading to the filing deadline.
According to the Chamber, although some businesses waited until the last day to submit their returns, the widespread technical glitches encountered on the newly launched portal significantly undermined compliance efforts and exposed weaknesses in the platform’s capacity.
The LCCI explained that Rev360, which was introduced about two months ago as the NRS’s new electronic tax administration platform, encountered severe operational challenges under heavy traffic on the deadline day.
These included login failures, validation errors and unsuccessful submission attempts, preventing many taxpayers from meeting their statutory obligations.
The Chamber noted that such teething problems are not unusual for newly deployed digital platforms, particularly when launched close to critical compliance deadlines.
However, it stressed that the predictable surge in user traffic should have been anticipated and adequately catered for before the system went live.
To mitigate the impact of the disruption on businesses, the LCCI urged the Nigeria Revenue Service to adopt what it described as a pragmatic and taxpayer-friendly approach by granting a one-month extension of the Company Income Tax filing deadline.
It also called on the Service to waive all penalties and sanctions for companies that made genuine attempts to file their returns on or before June 30 but were prevented from doing so by the portal’s technical failures.
Beyond the immediate relief measures, the Chamber appealed to the tax authority to urgently strengthen the capacity, stability and reliability of the Rev360 platform ahead of future filing deadlines to prevent a recurrence of the disruption.
The LCCI warned that failure to provide prompt clarification on the status of the filing deadline and applicable penalties could heighten uncertainty within the business community and erode confidence in the country’s digital tax administration reforms.
The Chamber further emphasised that extending the filing deadline would demonstrate regulatory flexibility and support the successful implementation of the country’s evolving tax administration framework.
“In the spirit of implementing the new tax system with a cautious regulatory approach, the Chamber considers an extension of the deadline a necessity at this time,” it said.
The LCCI added that a timely announcement by the Nigeria Revenue Service on the proposed extension and penalty waiver would reassure taxpayers, reduce confusion and reinforce confidence in the ongoing digital transformation of Nigeria’s tax system.
