The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) says the January 31, 2023 deadline for employers of labour residents within the State to file annual tax returns for their employees remains sacrosanct.

A statement by the Head, Corporate Communications of LIRS, Monsurat Amasa, quoted the Executive Chairman, Ayodele Subair, as saying failure to comply with the directive would attract penalties as well as other statutory sanctions as stipulated in section 81 (2) of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) Cap P8 LFN 2004 (as amended).

According to Subair, “for filing the annual income tax returns in Lagos State, the only available platform is the LIRS e-Tax portal: https://etax.lirs.net. The e-Tax portal is built for the convenience of taxpayers and is easy, convenient and safe. All businesses and employers of labour are advised to use the e-Tax portal to file their returns.

“With the eTax system, corporate bodies are expected to find it more convenient to carry out tax transactions in the comfort of their homes and offices, he noted.

Continuing, he stressed that “taxpayer ID of all employees is compulsory for the annual income tax returns to be successfully filed on the e-Tax portal. Therefore, all employees and taxable persons within the State are advised to generate a taxpayer ID (where applicable) and file their individual annual income tax returns on the e-Tax portal.’’