The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has said that it is deploying emerging technologies to improve taxpayer experience, strengthen the institution, and increase its revenue generation capability and ultimately economic development of Nigeria.
FIRS also admitted that the use of technology has helped it to block some of the gaps in the agency’s establishment acts.
This is as it expressed readiness to partner with ministries, departments, agencies, MDAs, as well technology companies for the eGovernment initiatives to increase tax compliance, generate more revenues and accelerate the nation’s economic growth.
Mrs Chiaka Ben-Obi, the Group Lead, Digital and Innovation Support Group, stated this at the Information Systems Audit and Control Association, ISACA, Abuja Chapter pre-conference 14th annual general meeting held recently in Abuja.
Speaking on the theme, “Digital Transformation: Striking the Right Balance, the FIRS Experience,’ Ben-Obi highlighted the agency’s track record and its impact on other organisations to implement and also champion more digital transformation.
She harped on the relevance of digital transformation, a strategy she noted, FIRS has employed over the years. “It is very relevant in that the giant stride FIRS has made in tax collection. We must put it out there that digitalisation is supporting FIRS in making an impact both in the collection and other processes in the organisation”, she explained.
The group lead recalled that in the past before the Agency implemented the tax pro-max system and the portal, it had the tax controllers and some of “our taxpayer schedule officers and others come to the head office to collect or submit one report or the other”.
Ben-Obi further assured the public that the FIRS is not ready to be left behind in this wave of transformation owing to digital innovation.
She noted that the agency has been undergoing transformation to “tackle the demand by re-engineering its processes and adopting emerging technologies to improve taxpayer experience, strengthen the institution, and increase its revenue generation capability and ultimately economic development of Nigeria.”
While lauding the cooperation from the Minister of Finance and the National Assembly on helping the country to collect more taxes, Ben-Obi charged other agencies to look at the benefits of technology and what it could do for them.
She re-emphasized the agency’s readiness to partner with agencies, ministries, organisations and others to enhance the nation’s economy.