New law introduces strict penalties for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information and documents by Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS)

Monday, August 11, 2025 - The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) Act has introduced strict penalties for the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information and documents by its staff, with offenders facing fines of up to N5 million, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.

The NRS Act is one of four bills recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, alongside the Nigeria Tax (Fair Taxation) Law, the Nigeria Tax Administration Law, and the Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Law. The regulations will take effect on January 1, 2026.

In Part VI of the NRS Act, covering miscellaneous provisions, the law designates all internal records—including institutional information, memoranda, and communications—as confidential.

“Without prejudice to the provisions of any other Act concerning data privacy or data protection, institutional information or communication, all internal information, communications, documents or memoranda of the Service are confidential,” the law states.

It further warns that, “Except as otherwise provided under this Act, any other law or any enabling agreement or arrangement or as otherwise authorised by the Executive Chairman or management of the Service, any person who discloses or attempts to disclose institutional information, communication, document or memorandum of the Service is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N5,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.”

The provision applies to all officials and individuals involved in the administration of the Act. The NRS also specified that business records, tax returns, notices, assessments, and documents relating to a person’s assets, liabilities, or profits must be “treated as secret.”

Exceptions to the confidentiality rule include disclosures authorised by the service, those mandated by court order, or situations where the information is needed for the enforcement of Nigeria’s tax laws.

The development follows a February 20, 2024, warning from the federal government cautioning civil servants in ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) against leaking sensitive documents to the public.