Section 33 Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025

Section 33 of the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2025 is about Official secrecy and confidentiality. It provides as follows:

(1) A person acting in an official capacity or employed in the administration of this Act shall regard and deal with originals or copies of all documents, information, returns, notices or assessment, lists relating to the business, assets, liabilities, profits or items of profits of any person as secret and confidential.

(2) A person acting in an official capacity or employed in the administration of this Act who, being in possession or control of, originals or copies of any document, information, return, notice or assessment, list relating to business, assets, liabilities, profits or items of profits of any person, communicates or attempts to communicate such information or anything contained in the document, return, notice or assessment, list or copy to any person other than –

(a) a person authorised by the Service to communicate it;

(b) by an order of the court; or

(c) for the purpose of this Act or any other tax law in Nigeria, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N5,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.

(3) A person appointed or employed under this Act shall not be required to produce any document, information, return, notice or assessment, or to divulge or communicate any information that comes into his possession in the performance of his duties except as may be necessary in order to institute a legal proceeding or in the course of a legal proceeding relating to tax in Nigeria.

(4) The obligation as to secrecy imposed by this Act shall not prevent the disclosure of relevant information to an authorised officer of the Government of a country with which Nigeria has entered into any treaty, agreement or arrangement on tax matters.

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