The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has assured operators in the manufacturing sector of data confidentiality under the electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) initiative.
Acting Director of Tax Automation at FIRS, Mike Adoga, gave the assurance during a stakeholder engagement session with players in the manufacturing sector in Lagos.
Adoga said the tax agency is fully guided by the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) and has instituted measures to ensure that all data shared for tax purposes remains confidential and secure.
“I want you to rest assured that we are guided by the Nigerian Data Protection Act and that all data that is passed for tax purposes remains confidential,” he said.
Adoga clarified that the e-invoicing initiative is not solely driven by FIRS, but is a federal government project coordinated by a steering committee.
He stated: “In fact, the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, that is responsible for regulating all such players in the Nigerian technology space, is the one responsible.
“This e-invoicing project is a federal government project and a whole lot of agencies, the CBN, NITDA, ministry of finance, and so many agencies are involved.
“As a matter of fact, we have a steering committee that consists of all these agencies, and everybody is playing their role.
“However, FIRS is the agency driving it because it has to sit somewhere and be driven. It is not an FIRS initiative. It is an initiative of the federal government of Nigeria, and all these agencies are involved.”
The acting director said NITDA has published a clear set of technical and regulatory specifications for any entity that wishes to become an access point provider.
“To become an access point provider, there are certain criteria that must be met and one of those is compliance with the Nigerian Data Protection Act.
“Data, as far as we are concerned, is going to be safe within the ecosystem because we have laid out requirements that will ensure compliance with the necessary regulations. The necessary ISO certifications in terms of data protection have to be in place before an access point provider is approved to perform such services,” Adoga added.