Before now, I never knew that it was very easy to get the Nigerian TIN. In fact, if you have a BVN, you automatically have a Tax Identification Number. Surprised? Let me show you how.

I wanted to use my Nigerian TIN for some official purpose online when I was required to fill in my TIN. In shock I was, I don’t pay tax, I’m just a student, I’m not a civil servant, so i thought, until I went searching and found this link for TIN. All you need to do is to supply the details on the form. Make sure to tick the box which proves that you are not a robot and voila, you have it .

My Major Concern

Does it mean that anyone who knows your details such as date of birth and BVN can easily get your TIN? Hmmmmmm, Well, you guessed right, the answer is YES!. The BVN (Bank Verification Number) in itself is very porous in Nigeria right now. Anyone with access to the phone number used to register for BVN can have it immediately by dialling *565*0#. Hahaha, and with your BVN, so many thing can be done in your identity. Be careful with it out there.

WHY TIN AGAIN?

The Nigerian government I believe are very smart, they know that citizens will not opt in for tax deductions on their own accord. The only way to properly document tax payers is to give them a TIN of-cause. Therefore, they auto-generate it on registering for BVN. BVN is very important in Nigeria, because without it, you cannot carry out any bank transaction.