Business
British Airways ‘admits’ to tax evasion in Nigeria – may face legal action
British Airways has admitted to withholding a statutory payment to Nigeria, marking a turning point in the face-off between the government of Nigeria and the foreign airline which began weeks ago over discriminatory fare charged on the lucrative London-Lagos route.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Aviation that organized an investigative public hearing on the violation of aviation laws by foreign airlines, BA Country Manager Kola Olayinka admitted to the carrier’s tax evasion saying: “It is not only BA; no airline, as we speak, is remitting the 5 percent charged on air fares to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).”
British Airways admitted it had failed to remit the 5 percent passenger fuel surcharge (PFS) on tickets to NCAA as required by global aviation practices.
Though the British carrier tried to assure the Senate Committee of its preparedness to begin to pay the tax, provided the legal requirements were clearly spelt out, the Senate Committee on Aviation has threatened to recommend its prosecution for tax evasion.
‘Criminal act’
The General Manager of Air France-KLM Nigeria, Mr Christian Herpi, had told the same committee that payment of PFS had been a practice by airlines worldwide and was not peculiar to airlines flying from Nigeria.
Faulting British Airways record of dodging tax in Nigeria, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the committee chairman said tax evasion is a criminal act and must be prosecuted accordingly.
Mr Uzodinma said: “Refusal to remit taxes is not a civil matter, it is a criminal offence which should be investigated by the appropriate department and we may have to do so.”
