Nigeria’s tax agency, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and South Africa’s media company, Multichoice have agreed to withdraw all court cases.
In an agreement revealed on Wednesday, both parties agreed to stay out of court to settle their ongoing rancour.
According to reports, FIRS will run a forensic audit of the company’s accounts while Multichoice withdraws all of its current lawsuits in court.
“By the broad terms of the agreement, MultiChoice shall withdraw all pending lawsuits towards an amicable resolution of the dispute. Also, as part of the agreement, the FIRS commenced a Forensic Systems Audit of MultiChoice accounts on Tuesday, 8 March 2022 to determine the tax liability of the company,” they said in a joint statement.
The FIRS had accused Multichoice of not paying taxes up to the tune of N1.8trn. It also accused the company of not granting it server to run an audit of it accounts.
The tax agency in July last year appointed some banks to help recover the taxes, a decision which necessitated Multichoice’s institution of a case at the Tax Appeal Tribunal and the Federal High Court.
A back and forth between both companies saw no end with Multichoice further challenging FIRS allegations that it owed $342m in unpaid Value Added Tax(VAT). The decision to settle out of court is expected to allow both parties reach a resolution soon.
Multichoice, a South African media group with strong presence in Nigeria is the owner of cable TV – DSTV and GOTV. Nigeria is also one of its biggest markets in Africa.
