A fresh investigation by Newsregisterng.com has revealed that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) office in Ibadan does not issue in-person Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) for individuals in Oyo State.
According to findings, the federal agency only issues TINs for business entities, while individual taxpayers are being directed to the Oyo State Internal Revenue Service (OYSIRS), popularly known as Revenue House, for their personal TIN needs.
Shockingly, even some officials of FIRS in Oyo State reportedly obtained their own TINs from the state revenue office rather than their federal workplace, a development that highlights a shift in tax administration responsibilities within the state.
The investigation, carried out yesterday, took our correspondent to the TIN office of OYSIRS in the early hours of Monday.
On arrival, officials at Revenue House attended to him promptly and instructed him to write down the Request-ID he had generated earlier through the Joint Tax Board (JTB) online portal.
The Request-ID forms the first phase of the TIN registration process.
Outside the building, several A4 sheets were prepared, where individuals seeking TINs were writing down their Request-IDs for processing.
Applicants were told to submit their details and wait for feedback within a week.
However, the investigation also revealed a significant challenge facing many residents limited access to the JTB website.
A number of applicants, especially the elderly, were unable to complete the online preliminary registration due to personal reasons navigating the digital platform.
Fortunately, a young lady was seen assisting such individuals in generating their Request-IDs on the spot. Others came prepared, having already printed their Request-IDs before arriving at the Revenue House.
A critical observation from the visit was the role of email as a potential barrier. Since the JTB platform requires an active email address to complete registration and receive updates, many older applicants struggled due to inactive or inaccessible personal emails.
This poses a risk of delayed or missed feedback for a large number of people.
The investigation underscores the importance of having a functional email address before attempting to register or generate a TIN Request-ID, especially for individuals who may not be digitally savvy.
As the process now stands, Oyo State residents seeking personal TINs must go through the OYSIRS, while the FIRS office in Ibadan continues handling TIN matters only for business entities.