Aelex
The full-service Nigerian law firm is headquartered in the capital of Nigeria, Lagos, and has offices
in provinces such as Port Harcourt and Abuja.
The tax practice offers a full-tax service with
expertise in litigation and dispute resolution matters, which the team has experience across variety of industries: oil and gas, shipping, aviation,
manufacturing and financial services. The
tax team
is led by
four partners;
for example,
dedapo Tunde-Olowu is the managing partner heading the dispute resolution practice and Theophilus Emuwa is the tax
partner heading the tax practice.
In mid-2022, the tax team represented
oil and gas company
Accugas Limited
before
the Federal High Court of Nigeria
in a dispute on minimum tax exemption.
Client feedback
''they are very practical and quick. It is clear that they are very experienced in dealing with tax issues in Nigeria.''
''Aelex's tax team is very responsive and provide solid practical advice.''
''Aelex is highly reputable in the Nigeria oil and gas operations. Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) continues to retain their services because they provide detailed and balanced tax opinions in a timely manner. They also represent MPN in the Nigerian courts with positive outcomes. Lastly, their legal cost/charges are reasonable and competitive.''
''Members of the AELEX tax team have developed significant specialist skills and acquired profound experience from their involvement in some ground-breaking tax matters in Nigeria. Their experienced partners and associates deliver well-thought-through solutions and are exceptional in general tax advisory and controversy. They provide top-notch and I dare say bespoke services to us and keep us up to date regularly.''
''Proactive and dependable.''
''Prompt responsiveness to emails; great understanding of the tax laws in Nigeria;
and goes above and beyond to provide detailed information.''
Alliance Law Firm
The Nigerian commercial law firm offers a comprehensive tax service, covering contentious and non-contentious matters,
including transfer pricing. The tax practice
has experience
representing clients in
dispute cases
before the court of law concerning client turnover assessment, excess dividend tax, group company restructuring and more.
Firm partner Gabriel Onojason and director
Joshua
Akhator are the leading senior
figures
in the tax practice.
In
mid-2022, the
firm acted as solicitor
for Dangote Industries Limited
in an estimated $500 billion
bond issuance to finance
the construction of an oil refinery in Nigeria. The task included drafting and negotiating the programme trust deed and advising on
compliance with all relevant tax laws.
Aluko & Oyebode
The
full-service law firm
provides tax legal advice, transactional tax support, and dispute resolution services from it headquarter office in Lagos and
through
its provincial
offices in
Abuja and Port Harcourt.
The firm has a variety of clients in industries such as oil and gas, banking,
entertainment and more.
Firm partner Chukwuka
Ikwuazom heads the tax practice.
In May 2022, the tax team represented Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc before the Lagos State High Court challenging the distraining order by the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue Service
on
alleged unpaid remittance.
Andersen Tax
Established in 2017, the international tax firm is highly recommended for its expertise in tax advisory. The practice is separated into five areas: tax advisory, transfer pricing, commercial practice, private clients, and the oil, gas, and power unit. The tax team
provides full
tax and legal
support on
both contentious and non-contentious
matters.
The firm is part of one of the most extensive tax networks spanning
across
146 locations within 18
countries and has two Nigerian offices in Lagos and Abuja. The tax team is led by
managing
partner Olaleye Adebiyi,
who
is
supported by six tax partners and three directors.
Banwo & Ighodalo
The
legal and tax services firm
is well established and experienced in
the
provision of solutions to complex and novel legal and tax advisory matters. The tax practice which
has a one-stop-shop
tax
service offering is led by
a
Managing Partner Kenneth Etim who is supported by
tax
partners
Abimbola
Akeredolu, Kehinde Ojuawo, and Azeezah Muse-Sadiq.
One of the case studies
presented
details
the
tax practice
representing
infrastructure service provider
INT Towers Limited before
the
Tax Appeal Tribunal
disputing
a levy of 1% profit
before tax on the annual turnover of all GSM service providers and telecommunications companies in Nigeria.
EY
The
Big Four professional service firm
offers a full-tax service, which
the tax team
has
expertise
in indirect tax, transactional tax, tax structuring, tax due diligence, tax health checks, tax regulatory services, and transfer pricing. In addition, the practice has
expertise in industry sectors such as energy, telecommunications, technology, financial services, mining, and construction. The key tax figures leading the practice are tax
partners
Akinbiyi Abudu,
Temitope
Samagbeyi, James Adeagbo, Temitope Oni, and Sandra
Momah;
however, tax partner Larry
Eyinla
departed the firm in June 2022.
Client feedback
''They performed excellently well in the engagement.''
G Elias & Co
G Elias & Co
provides legal and tax advisory services to international and Nigerian clients, including SMEs, multinationals, financial institutions, and government entities. The three
tax
partners Gbolahan Elias, Fidelis Adewole,
and Stephen Chima Arubike lead the tax practice.
Furthermore, the firm specialises in the following
practice areas:
general corporate tax, real estate, personal income tax, value-added tax, capital gains tax, transfer pricing, tax efficiency structuring, tax disputes, and legislative tax drafting.
Some of the key sectors the firm
advises clients includes
oil and gas, infrastructure, and financial services.
During the research period, the firm advised Africa Finance Corporation on tax. The team also assisted the Nigerian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil on indirect taxation.
Ikeyi Shittu & Co
Ikeyi Shittu & Co is a full-service commercial law firm with solid tax and transfer pricing expertise. The firm is renowned for providing innovative and practical business solutions to clients from various industry sectors; In addition, the firm handles complex tax controversies and provides tax advisory services to its clients with a team of 20 lawyers, and has offices
spread across the country in
Lagos, Enugu, and Abuja.
Firm partners
Taofeek Shittu and Nduka
Ikeyi are both
key
points of contacts.
Olaniwun Ajayi
The Nigerian full-service law firm has
established a sterling reputation for a wide range of tax, corporate, commercial, and contentious work, particularly in commercial dispute resolution and transactional tax advisory services.
Some of the key sectors the firm advise its clients in
are
energy, infrastructure, banking, capital markets,
banking and
finance. Partner Jonathan Aluju is a key individual at the firm.
During the research period, the tax team
advised Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on corporate tax, Indirect tax, and controversy.
Client Feedback
''Olaniwun Ajayi provided insight both within and beyond the context of the engagement. The report was comprehensive, well structured and concise.''
''Olaniwun Ajayi provides the company with well-thought-out plans and the resources to follow through in tax matters resolution.''
''They are professional, well known for service excellence, excellent interpersonal relations, and quick responsiveness.''
Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors
The well-established Nigerian business law firm offers full tax legal advice to a variety of clients such as
Access Bank, Ecobank Bank,
Huawei and
the
Federal Government of Nigeria from its
offices across the country in Lagos, Abuja and Asaba.
The tax practice is well equipped with the leadership of tax partners Nnamdi Oragwu and Onyeka
Ehiwuogwu.
Templars
Templars
provide innovative and practical advice on tax issues arising from domestic and cross-border commercial transactions. The tax services comprise a blend of tax advisory and dispute resolution in all key finance and business transactions spanning across
mergers and
acquisitions,
joint
ventures,
private
equity,
international
planning,
capital
formation,
real
estate,
tax-exempt
finance,
state and
local
tax
matters, including
transfer
pricing
risk issues.
Tax partner Dipo
Komolafe heads the team with the support of tax partners
Igonikon Adekunle, Sesan Sulaiman
and counsel Jude
Odinkonigbo.
Case studies show the firm is
representing Nigerian consultancy firm Accenture before the Tax Appeal Tribunal regarding
a
VAT dispute, circa N 350 million, against
the
Federal Inland Revenue Service.
Client feedback
''One major attribute that distinguishes Templars is the Firm's creativity and in-depth appreciation of issues. The firm also has well-seasoned tax professionals who bring to bear their wealth of experience on issues in any controversy. Templars also shares articles on tax decisions with its clients.''
''The Templars tax team is well versed in Nigerian tax law and we generally receive high quality tax advice from them.''
''Clear understanding of applicable tax laws, and provides timely legal opinion and diligent in prosecution.''
Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie
The Nigerian tax practice has a particular focus on transactional tax advice; however, the firm also offers tax legal support to a variety of clients on matters concerning permanent establishment,
tax structuring and planning, tax efficient employee compensation and more. The core tax team of nine practitioners include two partners, Lolade Ososami and Joseph Eimunjeze; the separate tax controversy
team
comprises three partners.
Client feedback
''Astute leadership with great technical competencies and the ability to translate into easy to understand workable solutions; well-rounded team in terms of their knowledge across the various taxes; thinks out of the box; and very solution-driven and able to grasp complex transactions.''
''Responsiveness and relevancy.''
''Open, knowledgeable, pragmatic in constructing phased approach with accompanying charging structures, and quick in their response to time critical activity.''
''They gave high quality input which greatly reduced the review time, proactively provided feedback in a timely fashion on all tasks assigned, were very polite and professional throughout the engagement, and passed our due diligence checks and acted with absolute integrity during the engagement.''
WTS Blackwoodstone
The Nigerian member firm of global network WTS has a dedicated tax team of 12
members led by
Bankole Oyewole
and
Kelechi
Ugbeva. The firm has a broad tax offering covering a variety of services including
transfer
pricing,
tax controversy and
litigation, M&A, and
assists
a range of clients from
private
clients and family offices to multinational companies.
