Lagos Digitizes Tax Collection Process For Hotels, Restaurants

The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has announced the immediate deployment of an upgraded process for the collection of Hotel Occupancy and Restaurants Consumption Tax (HORCT) in the state.

This was disclosed on Monday by the Executive Chairman of the LIRS, Ayodele Subair, in a notice directed at members of the public, operators and owners of hotels, event centres, restaurants, bars, and other related facilities in the state.

According to him, the new collection process called the Eco fiscal System (EFS) is an automated invoicing solution, designed to revolutionize the collection of consumption taxes in Lages.

“This technological advancement marks a significant leap in our continuous efforts to enhance revenue collection, streamline processes, and improve efficiency in tax administration. It simplifies compliance and improves accuracy,” the LIRS boss was quoted as saying.

“Traditionally, HORCT collection has been a tedious task for operators in the past; the manual process often led to errors, penalties, and increased costs.

“However, with LIRS’ cutting-edge software, businesses can now automate and digitize their invoicing and collection processes.

“Built with operators in this sector in mind, EFS offers real-time online consumption tax billing, collection monitoring, and instant issuance of receipts with a unique invoice number. It also reduces compliance costs, facilitates easy administration and reconciliation for HORCT collections, and fosters transparency,” the statement added.

Subair affirmed that by adopting the EFS, businesses could ensure accurate calculations, eliminating the risk of mistakes associated with manual data entry.

The system, he explained, automatically applies relevant tax rates, saving businesses valuable time and resources, adding that the software provides secure and efficient record-keeping, simplifying audits and minimizing compliance risks.

“Our goal is to empower businesses with innovative solutions that enhance their operational efficiency and minimise compliance challenges. Businesses can focus on their core operations, leaving the complex task of tax compliance to our reliable and automated system,” he said.

Subair called on all operators in the hospitality sector to adopt the EFS noting that operations on the system become effective immediately and failure to comply is a contravention of the provisions in Sections 7(1), 8 and 9 of the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Fiscalization Regulation 2017 which attracts penalties as stipulated in Sections 11(2) of the HORC Law 2009.