The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the Federal Government and subnational authorities to implement specific safeguards for manufacturers under the 2025 Tax Law.

It warned that the reform must not translate into higher compliance costs and multiple levies for factories.

Speaking at the 55th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of MAN Apapa branch last week, MAN President, Francis Meshioye, said. At the same time, they support tax harmonisation. Still, deliberate protections are needed to ensure the new tax regime addresses long-standing issues rather than adding pressure on businesses already operating in a difficult environment.

“While the law seeks to harmonise, digitise and reduce friction, for it to work for us, especially those in trade corridors like Apapa, we need deliberate safeguards. The test at the end must be the factories opened and jobs created,” he said.

Meshioye outlined four safeguards that must underpin the implementation of the 2025 Tax Law for it to deliver meaningful benefits to manufacturers.

The first, which he described as “harmonisation with teeth,” requires Lagos State to become the first state to publish a tax code aligned with the new law, with a single entity responsible for assessment and one portal for payment.

According to him, such an arrangement would significantly reduce compliance costs for manufacturers moving goods across different local government areas.

The second safeguard is “cluster protection,” with Meshioye calling on the government to declare Apapa, Amuwo-Odofin and Kirikiri a “No-Tout Zone” and provide state-backed enforcement against illegal levies on port access roads. “Illegitimate levies are rivalling legitimate levies. Legitimate revenue must not be crowded out by illegitimate collection,” he said.

On the third safeguard, described as the ‘port-manufacturing link,’ he urged the Lagos State Government to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Shippers Council to establish a single bill that covers port-related charges.

“A manufacturer should not pay multiple charges to move one container,” he decried.

The fourth safeguard, which he termed “data for fairness,” would require the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) and the Joint Tax Board to use data from MAN to identify genuine taxpayers.

According to him, this would help expand the tax net without exposing existing businesses to repeated audits.

“We are not asking for tax holidays. We are asking that the tax we pay translates to motorable roads, working drainage, and security in our clusters. That is the social contract,” he said.

He also maintained that state governments should not use the new tax law as an avenue to introduce new taxes on top of the already numerous ones, but rather as an opportunity to streamline and simplify existing ones.

At the national level, he opposed any retroactive application of the 2025 Tax Law to profits made in 2024. Also, he called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear outstanding FX forward obligations.

In his address, Chair, MAN Apapa Branch, Raphael Danilola, said the AGM theme, ‘Multiple Taxation and Levies Harmonisation with Sub-Nationals: What are the Safeguards for Nigerian Manufacturers in the New Tax Law?’, directly addresses a long-standing challenge confronting manufacturers.

“Our concern is simple. How do we ensure that tax reform strengthens manufacturing competitiveness rather than adds another layer of pressure on businesses already operating in an extremely challenging environment?” he asked.

Danilola outlined eight urgent requests to the Lagos State Government, including the fast-tracking of drainage and road rehabilitation in Amuwo-Odofin, regular visits by the governor and commissioners to industrial clusters, and efforts to curb the activities of non-state actors.

Other demands include a policy that would allow manufacturers to invest in public infrastructure in exchange for tax rebates, direct access for MAN leadership to the governor, a review of laws establishing state agencies with duplicated mandates, harmonisation of federal and state environmental laws, and implementation of the Nigeria First procurement policy at the state and local government levels.

“If manufacturing shrinks, Lagos shrinks. Lagos State must act decisively not only to retain existing manufacturers but also to make its industrial clusters places where businesses can invest, produce, compete and grow,” he urged.

He added that they remain prepared to engage and collaborate with the government, while urging manufacturers to embrace prudence, innovation and cost control in navigating the prevailing economic headwinds.

Speaking further on the branch’s 55th AGM, Danilola said the Apapa Branch marked the milestone with a call for stronger government-industry collaboration to protect jobs and investments in Nigeria’s largest industrial corridor.

Also speaking as guest speaker, Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Olusegun Adesokan, said tax reform “should never be measured simply by how much the government can collect.”

According to him, the more important measure is whether the reform creates an environment in which businesses can invest with confidence, industries can expand, jobs can be created, and communities can prosper.

Citing MAN data, Adesokan said Nigeria operated under a system involving more than 100 taxes and levies, while firms spent as much as 18 working days each month on tax compliance.

He added that 84 per cent of firms paid multiple state and local government levies, while 72 per cent of manufacturers identified tax complexity as a major constraint to production.

According to him, the new law consolidates fragmented federal tax statutes into a single coherent code and introduces uniform procedures for registration, filing, audit and refunds.

At the subnational level, he said over 100 taxes and levies have been harmonised into nine revenue heads under a single Taxpayer Identification Number (Tax ID). He added that the law abolishes roadblocks for tax collection, prohibits cash payments and the use of stickers and mandates digital payments backed by proper receipts.

Adesokan added that the new framework protects taxpayers from double payment and provides a mechanism for recovering money wrongly or excessively paid.

For manufacturers to fully benefit from the reforms, he urged companies to obtain valid Tax IDs, maintain accurate records, file returns promptly and pay disputed assessments while lodging objections.

He also advised manufacturers to comply with the harmonised tax and levy laws and use official payment channels rather than cash transactions.