Nigeria's Office of the Tax Ombud: How to File a Tax Complaint

Got unfair treatment, an unreasonable delay, or an FIRS/NRS/State IRS official acting outside their authority? The Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) is a free, independent complaints channel set up under the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2025 — separate from the tax authorities themselves.

What the Tax Ombud is — and isn't

The Office of the Tax Ombud is not a court or a formal appeals body — it is an administrative-complaints and mediation channel for disputes about how a tax authority or its officials behaved (delay, unfair treatment, abuse of process), and it is legally barred from ruling on how much tax you owe or issuing an assessment. If your dispute is about the substance of an assessment or tax liability itself, that is the Tax Appeal Tribunal's jurisdiction, not the Tax Ombud's — and if the matter is already before a court or the Tribunal, the Tax Ombud cannot touch it at all.

When to use it

Use the Tax Ombud for administrative complaints — unfair treatment, unreasonable delay, or an FIRS/NRS/State IRS official acting outside their authority. It isn't a substitute for a formal tax appeal: by law, it can't rule on how much tax you owe or issue an assessment (§43(a)/(c)) — that's the Tax Appeal Tribunal's job, not the Tax Ombud's.

How to file a complaint

File at taxombud.gov.ng, by phone on the toll-free line 08000089632, or by email at contactus@taxombud.gov.ng. Filing a complaint is free. The Act bars the Tax Ombud from charging a fee at all: "the Office of the Tax Ombud shall not charge a fee" (§41(2)).

Before you can file, two conditions have to be met: you've already raised the issue with the relevant tax authority — FIRS, NRS, or your State IRS — and it's still unresolved ("if the issue is unresolved by the relevant agencies", Third Schedule ¶1(2)); and the complaint can't be anonymous — the Tax Ombud won't accept one without your name attached (¶1(4)). A false or misleading complaint may be struck out (¶1(5)).

What happens after you file

Investigation must start within 14 days of your complaint being received, extendable by a further 7 days (Third Schedule ¶2(2)). Resolution comes as a recommendation to the tax authority or to you, not a binding court order (¶3(1)) — an agency that doesn't comply has 21 days to report its reasons (¶4(1)), and unresolved non-compliance escalates to the National Assembly or the relevant State House of Assembly for oversight (¶4(2)).