MultiChoice, a pan-African pay-TV operator (with headquarters in South Africa), has, according to reports, agreed to pay a US$25 million settlement to Nigerian tax authorities. The settlement amount has dropped from around US$37 million at the start of the month toUS$25 million.
According to BMA sources, the Nigerian authority (the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) had frozen MultiChoice’s bank accounts in July 2021, alleging that the pay-TV operator had not paid VAT since its launch in the country. MultiChoice announced that it had reached an amicable solution with the FIRS in March 2022.
As part of the agreement, MultiChoice will withdraw all pending lawsuits, and FIRS will resume a Forensic Systems Audit of MultiChoice accounts to determine the company’s tax liability. The audit led to a settlement negotiation with FIRS, concluded in a ‘without prejudice or precedent’ agreement, resolving all matters in dispute.
