Taking a tax complaint to the Tax Ombud
When a Nigerian business can complain to the Office of the Tax Ombud, what the written complaint should contain, and when an objection is the better route.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Nigeria
Some tax problems are not disagreements about the law. The refund was approved months ago and has not been paid. A return uploaded in good time still shows as unprocessed. Letters to the tax office go unanswered, and every phone call ends with a promise to "escalate". Nobody is arguing with you; nothing is happening at all.
That is the kind of problem the Office of the Tax Ombud is meant for. This article explains what the NRS says the Ombud handles, what you must try first, what a written complaint should contain, how to assemble and share the evidence, and when an objection or appeal is the right route instead.
Try the tax authority first
The NRS says a taxpayer should first try to resolve an issue with the tax authority and, if it stays unresolved, lodge a written complaint with the Office of the Tax Ombud, giving details of the issue, the steps taken and supporting documents.
"Steps taken" is the important phrase. The Ombud expects you to have given the authority a fair chance and to be able to show it. Before complaining, make sure you have:
- raised the problem in writing with the office concerned, not only by phone;
- followed up at least once, again in writing;
- kept copies of what you sent and any reply, with dates.
If you have only ever called, start there. A complaint built on "we phoned several times" is weaker than one built on two dated letters and an unanswered follow-up.
Matters the Ombud handles
According to the NRS, matters the Tax Ombud typically handles include:
- delays in tax refunds or in processing returns;
- unresolved complaints about assessments or penalties;
- failure to receive responses from tax authorities.
Refund delays are a common example, and the NRS's own refund guidelines give you a yardstick. They say a non-VAT tax refund that is due must be settled within 90 days of the decision of the relevant tax authority, or the amount applied as a set-off against the taxpayer's tax liabilities. If that period has passed with neither payment nor set-off, and your letters have gone unanswered, you have a clear, dated complaint.
Free and confidential
The NRS says the services of the Office of the Tax Ombud are free and confidential. You do not need to pay an adviser to file a complaint, although an adviser can help you set out a complicated history clearly. And raising a complaint should not expose your affairs more widely than the complaint requires.
The NRS describes the Ombud's role, what it handles and how to complain on its Office of the Tax Ombud page.
What the written complaint should contain
Following the NRS's description, a complaint should give the issue, the steps taken and the supporting documents. In practice, a clear complaint fits on two pages:
- Who you are: business name, Tax ID and a contact person.
- The issue in one paragraph: "Our refund for [tax, period] was approved on [date] and has not been paid or set off."
- The timeline: each step you took, with dates, and what happened.
- What you are asking for: payment, a decision, a response, a corrected record.
- A list of the documents attached.
Keep the tone factual. The Ombud is not taking sides in a quarrel; it is looking at whether the authority has handled your matter properly.
Assembling and sharing the paper trail
A complaint usually draws on documents scattered across e-mail, the portal and paper files. Gathering them is most of the work.
One folder for the complaint. Achekam's Document Centre lets a business organise files into folders, tag them, search them and keep earlier versions when a file is replaced. Put the original return or refund claim, the authority's decision, every letter and follow-up, payment or portal receipts, and the complaint itself in one folder, named for the issue.
Sharing without losing control. When the Ombud's office or your adviser needs to see a document, a business can share it by e-mailing a personal link with an expiry date, an optional one-time code, and a choice of whether downloading is allowed. The share can be revoked later. That keeps a record of what you shared and with whom, and lets you withdraw access once the matter is closed.
When an objection or appeal is the better route
The Ombud is not a substitute for the formal dispute process. If the problem is that you disagree with an assessment's figures, the remedy is an objection under the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, with its own strict time limit, and then, if needed, an appeal. A complaint to the Ombud does not stop that clock.
A useful rule of thumb:
| Your problem | Route |
|---|---|
| "The assessment is wrong" | Objection within the deadline, then appeal |
| "We objected and nobody has replied" | Follow up in writing; consider the Ombud |
| "Our refund was approved and not paid" | Write to the authority; then the Ombud |
| "Our return has sat unprocessed" | Write to the authority; then the Ombud |
If you are unsure whether you are entitled to a refund in the first place, start with when a Nigerian business is owed a tax refund. If the problem is the assessment itself, objecting to a Nigerian assessment explains what the objection must contain.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
