BY SAM OTUONYE 

The Federal Inland Revenue Service has unveiled a revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) aimed at enhancing consistency, transparency, and service delivery in tax administration nationwide.

In a statement issued Monday in Abuja, Special Adviser on Communication Strategy and Advocacy to the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Collins Omokaro, said the updated SOP provides a unified framework for key tax functions such as registration, payment, audit, and enforcement.

“This is about people, experience, and impact. It’s a step toward a tax system that supports voluntary compliance and national development,” Omokaro said.

He explained that although FIRS field offices have operated with good intentions, variations in methods across different branches have often led to confusion for taxpayers.

The revised SOP aims to eliminate these inconsistencies by establishing a single, standardized roadmap for operations across all of the Service’s more than 300 offices.

The new SOP is more than just a procedural guide; it is a more comprehensive institutional direction that is consistent with the ideals that characterise FIRS’s changing identity.

Omokaro quoted, Zacch Adedeji, Executive Chairman of FIRS, as saying, “This SOP is not just a technical document it is a declaration of who we are becoming as a service. It reflects our commitment to transparency and service to the Nigerian people.”

The SOP revision is part of FIRS’ comprehensive reform plan, which aims to convert the agency into a service-driven institution. It also corresponds with the FIRS’ ongoing digital transformation, which aims to integrate human and technical processes to provide faster and more reliable tax services.

Internally, the SOP will improve operational efficiency, guide staff training, and establish stronger performance evaluation systems. Omokaro emphasized that every staff member is expected to fully adopt the new procedures.

“With this rollout, every FIRS staff member has a clear mandate: study it, apply it, and embody it. That’s how we’ll earn the trust of Nigerians,” he said.

This SOP initiative reinforces FIRS’s mission to reposition itself as a modern tax authority grounded in accountability, consistency, and a shared national purpose supporting improved tax collection and Nigeria’s broader development goals.