CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF TAXATION OF NIGERIA ACT

(1) There is hereby established a body to be known as the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (in this Act referred to as ''the Institute") which shall be a body corporate under that name and be charged with the general duty of-
(a) determining what standards of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered members of the taxation profession (in this Act referred to as "the profession") and reviewing those standards, from time to time as circumstances may require;
(b) securing, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the establishment and maintenance of a register of fellows, associates, graduates and student members of the Institute and the publication from time to time, of lists of those persons; and
(c) regulating and controlling the practice of the profession in all its ramifications;
(d) maintaining, in accordance with this Act, of discipline within the profession;
(e) performing, through the Council established under section 4 of this Act, the functions conferred on it by this Act.
(2) The Institute shall have perpetual succession and a common seal which shall be kept in such custody as the Council may, from time to time, authorise.

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, persons admitted to membership of the Institute shall be registered as members in the category of-
(i) fellows;
(ii) associate members; and
(iii) graduate members.
(2) Persons registered under this Act as members shall be entitled to be enrolled-
(a) as fellows, if they satisfy the Council that for the period of five years immediately preceding the date of application in that behalf, they have been fit persons and have, in addition to being the holders of approved academic qualifications, been in continuous active practice as professional tax practitioners or administrators;
(b) as associate members, if for the period of not less than three years immediately preceding the date of application in that behalf (the period of membership of the Institute of Taxation in the discretion of the Council, counting in that behalf), have been enrolled as graduate members and are otherwise fit persons; and
(c) as graduate members, if they satisfy the Council that they have passed the Institute's examinations and are otherwise fit and proper persons to be enrolled.

(1) The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by the members of the Council.
(2) The President and Vice-President shall each hold office for a term of two years from the date of their election, and the President shall be the chairman at meetings of the Institute, so however that in the event of the death, incapacity or inability for any reason of the President, the Vice President shall act as President for the unexpired portion of the term of office and as chairman, as the case may be, and references in this Act to the President shall be construed accordingly.
(3) The President and the Vice-President shall respectively be chairman and vice-chairman of the Council of the Institute under this Act.
(4) If the President or the Vice-President ceases to be a member of the Institute, he shall cease to hold any of the offices designated under this section.

(1) There shall be, as the governing body of the Institute, a Council which shall be charged with the administration and general management of the Institute.
(2) The Council shall consist of-
(a) a chairman who is the President of the Institute;
(b) a vice-chairman;
(c) the chairman of the Federal Board of lnland Revenue or his representative, not below the rank of a Director;
(d) two representatives of the Joint Tax Board;
(e) fifteen persons elected by the Institute;
(f) the three immediate past Presidents of the Institute, including the former Institute
for a maximum of a three-years term after which a past President automatically retires;
(g) a representative each of the following Ministries, that is-
(i) Finance and Economic Development; and
(ii) Education; and
(h) two persons to represent institutions of higher learning in Nigerian offering courses leading to an approved qualification, to be appointed by the Minister in rotation, so however that the two shall not come from the same institution.
(3) The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the qualifications and tenure of office of members of the Council and other matters therein mentioned.

The Council shall have power to do anything which in its opinion is calculated to facilitate the carrying on of the activities of the Institute.

(1) There shall be established and maintained for the purpose of this Act a fund.
(2)
There shall be paid into the fund established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section-
(a) all fees and other moneys payable to the Institute in pursuance of this Act; and
(b) such moneys as may be payable to the Institute, whether in the course of the discharge of its functions or not.
(3) There shall be paid out of the fund of the Institute established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section-
(a) the remuneration and allowances of the Registrar and other employees of the
Institute;
(b) such reasonable travelling and subsistence allowance of members of the Council in respect of the time spent on the business of the Council as the Council may determine; and
(c) any other expenses incurred by the Council in the discharge of its functions under this Act.
(4) The Council may invest moneys in the fund in any security created or issued by or on behalf of the Federal Government or in any other securities in Nigeria approved by the Council.
(5) The Council may, from time to time, borrow money for the purposes of the Institute and any interest payable on moneys so borrowed shall be paid out of the fund.

The Council shall keep proper accounts on behalf of the Institute in respect of each financial year and proper records in relation to those accounts and the Council shall cause the accounts to be audited by a firm of chartered accountants and when audited, the accounts shall be submitted to the members of the Institute for approval by them at the next annual general meeting.

(1) The Council shall appoint a fit and proper person to be the Registrar for the purposes of this Act, and such other persons as the Council may, from time to time, think necessary to assist the Registrar in the performance of his function under this Act.
(2) It shall be the duty of the Registrar to prepare and maintain, in accordance with rules made by the Council, a register of the names, addresses, approved qualifications, and of such other qualifications and particulars as may be specified in the rules, of all persons who are entitled in accordance with the provisions of this Act to be enrolled as fellows, associate members, graduate members and student members or who, in the manner prescribed by such rules, apply to be so registered.
(3) The register shall consist of four parts of which-
(a) the first part shall be in respect of fellows;
(b) the second part shall be in respect of associate members;
(c) the third part shall be in respect of graduate members;
(d) the fourth part shall be in respect of student members.
(4) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, the Council shall make rules with respect to the form and keeping of the register and the making of entries therein, and in particular-
(a)
regulating the making of application for enrolment or registration, as the case may be, and providing for the evidence to be produced in support of such applications;
(b) providing for the notification to the Registrar, by the person to whom any registered particulars relates, of any change in those particulars;
(c) authorising a registered person to have any qualification which is in relation to the relevant division of the profession, either an approved qualification for the purposes of this Act, entered in relation to his name in addition to or, as he may elect, in substitution for any other qualifications so registered;
(d) specifying the fees, including any annual subscription, to be paid to the Institute in respect of the entry of names on the register, and authorising the Registrar to refuse to enter a name on the register until any fee specified for the entry has been paid,
but rules made for the purposes of paragraph (d) of this subsection shall not come into force until they are confirmed at a meeting of the Institute.
(5) It shall be the duty of the Registrar-
(a) to correct, in accordance with the Council's directions, any entry in the register which the Council directs him to correct as being in the Council's opinion an entry which was incorrectly made;
(b) to make, from time to time, any necessary alteration to the registered particulars of registered persons;
(c) to remove from the register the name of any registered person who had died; and
(d) to record the names of members of the Institute who are in default for more than six months in the payment of annual subscriptions, and to take such action in relation thereto (including removal of the names of defaulters from the register) as the Council may direct or require.
(6) If the Registrar-
(a) sends by post to any registered person a registered letter addressed to him at his address on the register enquiring whether the registered or enrolled particulars relating to him are correct, and receives no reply to the letter within a period of six months from the date of posting it; and
(b)
upon the expiration of that period, sends in the like manner to the person in question a second similar letter, and receives no reply to that letter within three months from the date of posting it,
the Registrar may remove the particulars relating to the person in question from the register:
Provided that the Council may direct the Registrar to restore to the appropriate part of the register any particulars removed therefrom under this subsection.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Registrar-
(a) to cause the register to be printed, published and put on sale to members of the public not later than two years from the commencement of this Act; and
(b) thereafter to cause to be printed, published and put on sale as aforesaid, either a corrected edition of the register or a list of corrections made to the register, since it was last printed; and
(c) to cause a print of each edition of the register and of each list of corrections to be deposited at the principal offices of the Institute; and
(d) to keep the register and lists so deposited to be made available to members of the public at all reasonable times for inspection.
(2) A document purporting to be a print of an edition of a register published under this section by authority of the Registrar, or documents purporting to be prints of an edition of a register so published and of the list of corrections to that edition so published, shall (without prejudice to any other mode of proof) be admissible in any proceedings as evidence that any person specified in the document, or the documents read together, as being registered or enrolled was so registered at the date of the edition or of the list of corrections, as the case may be, and that any person not so specified was not so registered.
(3) Where in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, a person is, in any proceeding shown to have been or not to have been registered or enolled at a particular date, he shall, unless the contrary is proved, be taken for the purposes of those proceedings as having at all material times thereafter continued to be, or not to be so enrolled or registered.

(1) Subject to section 11 of this Act and to rules made under section 8 of this Act, a person shall be entitled to be registered as a member of the Institute if-
(a) he passes the qualifying examination accepted by the Council under this Act and completes the practical training prescribed; or
(b) he is by law entitled to practice for all purposes as a tax administrator or practitioner in the country in which the qualification was granted and, if the Council so requires, he satisfies the Council that he has sufficient experience as a tax administrator or practitioner; or
he satisfies the Council that immediately before the commencement of this Act he had not less than-
(i) one year's practical experience in accounting in the case of a registered member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Nigeria;
(ii) two years' practical experience in tax administration or practice in the case of a person who has passed the final of the Federal Board of Inland Revenue Training School examination or its equivalent;
(iii) three years' practical experience in taxation in the case of any other person possessing a degree certificate from any Nigerian or overseas recognised institution majoring in taxation.
(2) An applicant for registration shall, in addition to evidence of qualification, satisfy the Council that-
(a) he is of good character;
(b) he has attained the age of21 years;
(c) he has not been convicted in Nigeria or elsewhere of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty; and
(d) he fulfils his financial obligations to the Institute.
(3) The Council may, in its sole discretion, provisionally accept a qualification produced in respect of an application for registration under this section, or direct that the application be renewed within such period as may be specified in the direction.
(4) Any entry directed to be made in the register under subsection (3) of this section, shall show that such registration is provisional and no entry so made shall be converted to full registration without the consent of the Council signified in writing in that behalf.
(5) The Council shall, from time to time, publish in the Gazette particulars of qualifications for the time being accepted as aforesaid.

(1) The Council may approve any institution for the purposes of this Act and may for those purposes approve-
(a) any course of training at any approved institution which is intended for persons seeking to become or are already tax administrators or practitioners and which in the opinion of the Council is designed to confer on persons completing it sufficient knowledge and skill for admission to the Institute;
(b) any qualification which, as a result of an examination taken in conjunction with a course of training approved by the Council under this section, is granted to candidates reaching a standard at the examination indicating, in the opinion of the Council, that the candidates have sufficient knowledge and skill to practice as tax administrators or practitioners.
(2) The Council may, if it thinks fit, withdraw any approval given under this section in respect of any course, qualification or institution; but before withdrawing such an approval, the Council shall-
(a) give notice that it proposes to do so to persons in Nigeria appearing to the Council to be persons by whom the course is conducted or the qualification is granted or the institution is controlled, as the case may be;
(b) afford each such person an opportunity of making to the Council representations with regard to the proposal; and
(c) take into consideration any representations made as respect the proposal in pursuance of paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(3) A course, qualification or institution shall not be treated as approved during any period the approval is withdrawn under subsection (2) of this section.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, the withdrawal of an approval under subsection (2) of this section shall not prejudice the registration or eligibility for registration of any person who by virtue of the approval was registered or was eligible for registration (either unconditionally or subject to his obtaining a certificate of experience) immediately before the approval was withdrawn.
(a) as soon as may be, publish a copy of every such instrument in the Gazette; and
(b) not later than seven days before its publication as aforesaid, send a copy of the instrument to the Minister.
(5) The giving or withdrawal of an approval under this section shall have effect from such date, whether before or after the execution of the instrument signifying the giving or withdrawal of the approval, as the Council may specify in the instrument and the Council shall-
(a) as soon as may be, publish a copy of every such instrument in the Gazette; and
(b) not later than seven days before its publication as aforesaid, send a copy of the instrument to the Minister.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Council to keep itself informed of the nature of-
(a) the instruction given at approved institutions to persons attending approved courses of training; and
(b)
the examination as a result of which approved qualifications are granted,
and for the purpose of performing that duty, the Council may appoint, either from among its own members or any member of the Institute a person to visit approved institutions or evaluate such examinations.
(2) It shall be the duty of a person appointed under subsection (1) of this section to report to the Council on-
(a) the adequacy of the instruction given to persons attending approved courses of training at institutions visited by him;
(b) the adequacy of the examinations attended by him; and
(c) any other matter relating to the institutions or examinations on which the Council may, either generally or in a particular case, request him to report,
but no such person shall interfere or be otherwise involved with the giving of any instruction or the holding of any examination.
(3) On receiving a report made in pursuance of this section, the Council may, if it thinks fit, and shall, if so required by the institutions, send a copy of the report to the person appearing to the Council to be in charge of the institution or responsible for the examinations to which the report relates, requesting that person to make observations on the report to the Council within such period as may be specified in the request, not being less than one month beginning with the date of the request.

(1) There shall be a Tribunal to be known as the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria Disciplinary Tribunal (in this Act referred to as "the Tribunal") which shall be charged with the duty of considering and determining any case referred to it by the Investigation Panel established by the following provisions of this section and any other case of which the Tribunal has cognisance under the following provisions of this Act.
(2) The Tribunal shall consist of the chairman of the Council and six other members of the Council appointed by the Council.
(3) There shall be a body to be known as the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria Investigation Panel (in this Act referred to as "the Panel) which shall be charged with the duty of-
(a) conducting a preliminary investigation into any case where it is alleged that a member of the Institute has misbehaved in his capacity as a member or should for any other reason be the subject of proceedings before the Tribunal; and
(b) deciding whether the case should be referred to the Tribunal.
(4) The Panel shall be appointed by the Council and shall consist of four members of the Council and one member who is not a member of the Council.
(5) The provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act shall, so far as applicable to the Tribunal and Panel respectively, have effect with respect of those bodies.
(6) The Council may make rules not inconsistent with this Act as to acts which constitute professional misconduct.

(1) Where-
(a) a person registered under this Act is adjudged by the Tribunal to be guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect; or
(b) a person is convicted, by any court or Tribunal in Nigeria or elsewhere having power to award imprisonment, of an offence (whether or not punishable with imprisonment) which in the opinion of the Disciplinary Tribunal is incompatible with the status of a member of the Institute; or
(c)
the Tribunal is satisfied that the name of any person has been fraudulently enrolled or registered,
the Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, give a direction reprimanding that person or ordering the Registrar to strike his name off the relevant part of the register.
(2) The Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, defer or further defer its decision as to the giving of a direction under subsection (1) of this section until a subsequent meeting of the Tribunal; but
(a) no decision shall be deferred under this subsection for periods exceeding two years in the aggregate; and
(b) no person shall be a member of the Tribunal for the purposes of reaching a decision which has been deferred, unless he was present as a member of the Tribunal when the decision was deferred.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) (b) of this section, a person shall not be treated as convicted as therein mentioned, unless the conviction stands at a time when no appeal or further appeal is pending or may (without extension of time) be brought in connection with the conviction.
(4) When the Tribunal gives a direction under subsection (1) of this section, the Tribunal shall cause notice of the direction to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(5) The person to whom a direction relates may, at any time within twenty-eight days from the date of service on him of notice of the direction, appeal against the direction to the Federal High Court and the Tribunal may appear as respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of the appeal and of proceedings before the Court of Appeal, the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a party thereto whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(6) A direction of the Tribunal under subsection (1) of this section shall take effect-
(a) where no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within the time limited for the appeal, on the expiration of that time;
(b) where such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal;
(c)
where any such an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out as aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed,
and shall not take effect except in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this subsection.
(7) A person whose name is struck off the register in pursuance of a direction of the Tribunal under this section, shall not be entitled to be enrolled or registered again except in pursuance of a direction in that behalf; and a direction under this section for the striking off of a person's name from the register, may prohibit an application under this subsection by that person until the expiration of such period from the date of the direction (and where he has duly made such an application, from the date of his last application) as may be specified in the direction.

Any person who is not a member of the Nigerian Institute of Taxation (in this Act referred to as "the former Institute") who, but for this Act, would have been qualified to apply for and obtain membership of the former Institute may, within the period of three months beginning from the commencement of this Act, apply for membership of the Institute in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made by the Council; and if approved, he shall be enrolled or, as the case may be, registered, according to his qualification.

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a person shall be deemed to practice as a member of the Institute if, in consideration of remuneration received or to be received and whether by himself or in partnership with any other person-
(a) he engages himself in the practice of taxation or holds himself out to the public as a member of the Institute; or
(b) he renders professional service or assistance in or about matters of principle or detail relating to taxation procedure; or
(c) he renders any other service which may by regulations made by the Council, with the approval of the Minister, be designed as service constituting tax practice.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to apply to persons who, while in the employment of any Government, are required under the terms or in the course of such employment, to perform the duties or any of the duties of a tax administrator or practitioner.

(1) The Council may make rules-
(a) for the training of suitable persons in taxation administration, methods and practice; and
(b) for the supervision and regulation of the engagement, training and transfer of such persons.
(2) The Council may also make rules-
(a) prescribing the amount and due date for the payment of the annual subscription, and for such purposes different amounts may be prescribed by the rules according to whether the person is registered as a fellow, associate member, graduate member or student member;
(b) prescribing the form of licence to practise to be issued annually or, if the Council thinks fit, by endorsement on an existing licence; and
(c) restricting the right to practise in default of payment of the amount of the annual subscription where the default continues for longer than such period as may be prescribed by the rules.
(3) Rules when made under this section shall, if the chairman of the Council so directs, be published in the Gazette.

The Institute shall-(a) provide and maintain a library comprising books and publications for the advancement of knowledge of tax practice and such other books and publications as the Council may think necessary for the purpose;
(b) encourage research into taxation procedure and allied taxation, subject to the extent that the Council may, from time to time, consider necessary.

(1) If any person, for the purpose of procuring the registration of any name, qualification or other matter-
(a) makes a statement which he believes to be false in a material particular; or
(b)
recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular,
he shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) If, on or after the relevant date, any person who is not a member of the Institute practices or holds himself out to practice as a tax administrator or practitioner for or in expectation of reward or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description implying that he is in tax practice, he shall be guilty of an offence; provided that, in the case of a person falling within section 15 of this Act-
(a) this subsection shall not apply in respect of anything done by him during the period of three months mentioned in that section; and
(b) if within that period he duly applies for membership of the Institute then, unless within that period he is notified that his application has not been approved, this subsection shall not apply in respect of any thing done by him between the end of that period and the date on which he is registered or is notified as aforesaid.
(3) If the Registrar or any other person employed by or on behalf of the Institute wilfully makes any falsification in any matter relating to the register, he shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable-
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine of an amount not exceeding N100;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of an amount not exceeding N1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(5) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to, any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(6) In this section, "the relevant date" means the third anniversary of the coming into force of this Act or such earlier date as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section by order of the Minister published in the Gazette.

(1) Any regulation made under this Act, shall be published in the Gazette as soon as may be after they are made and a copy of any such regulation shall be sent to the Minister not later than 7 days before they are so published.
(2) Rules made for the purposes of this Act shall be subject to confirmation by the Institute at its next general meeting or at any special meeting of the Institute convened for that purpose, and if then annulled, shall cease to have effect on the day after the date of annulment, but without prejudice to anything done in pursuance or intended pursuance of any such rules.

(1)
The body known as the Nigerian Institute of Taxation (in this Act referred to as "the former Institute") is hereby dissolved.
(2) Accordingly, all the property held by or on behalf of the former Institute shall by virtue of this section and without further assurance, vest in the Institute and be held by it for the purposes of the Institute.
(3) The provisions of the Third Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to matters arising from the transfer by this section to the Institute of the property of the former Institute and with respect to the other matters mentioned in that Schedule.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"Council" means the Council established as the governing body of the Institute under section 4 of this Act;
"fees" includes annual subscription;
"former Institute" means the Nigerian Institute of Taxation dissolved by section 2 (1) of this Act;
"Institute" means the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria established under section 1 of this Act;
"member of the Institute" means a registered fellow member, associate member, graduate member, or student member of the Institute and membership of the Institute shall be construed accordingly;
"Minister" means the Minister charged with the responsibility for matters relating to taxation;
"Panel" means the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria Investigating Panel established under section 13 of this Act;
"President and Vice-President" means respectively the office-holders under those names in the Institute;
''profession" means the profession of taxation;
"register" means the register maintained in pursuance of section 8 of this Act;
"registered" in relation to a fellow, an associate member or a graduate member means registered in the part of the register relating to fellow, associate member or graduate member as the case may be;
"tax administrator" means any person employed as a tax administrator;
"tax practitioner" means any person who is registered or entitled to be registered under this Act in any of the categories of membership;
"Tribunal" means the Chartered Institute of Taxation Disciplinary Tribunal established under section 13 of this Act.

This Act may be cited as the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria Act.