Pulse.ng : Zamfara Internal Revenue Service trains staff on GRM to enhance taxpayers experience

By Sani Idris Abdulrahman

The Zamfara State Internal Revenue Service (ZIRS) has intensified efforts to strengthen taxpayer engagement and promote inclusive, responsive tax administration through a comprehensive staff training on Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the training, hosted by the Tax Justice and Governance Platform (TJ&GP) in Kaduna State, enjoyed technical support from the TJ&GP national platform and collaboration from the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service

(KADIRS).

In a statement issued to newsmen on Friday in Kaduna by Mr Simeon Olatunde, the Coordinator TJ&GP in Kaduna, he said the training equipped participants with international best practices to engage taxpayers.

He also said that the training equiped the participants with knowledge to manage and document complaints, analyse feedback, and foster a welcoming environment for grievance resolution and inclusive service delivery.

Demonstrating visionary leadership, Olatunde said the Executive Chairperson of the ZIRS,

Hajiya Rakiya Dodo, sponsored the training to enhance staff capacity for effective taxpayer interaction and complaint resolution.

By institutionalising the GRM framework, Olatunde said ZIRS aimed to build a citizen-centered and gender-sensitive tax system that promotes trust, accountability, and voluntary compliance among taxpayers across Zamfara State.

"This inter-state partnership provided ZIRS staff with valuable exposure to Kaduna’s pioneering tax reforms, citizen engagement models, and inclusive revenue administration practices for improved taxpayer experience,"he said.

Olatunde urged participants to adopt educative and persuasive approaches in tax collection to encourage voluntary compliance and build public trust rather than using coercive measures.

He also introduced the Tax Clinic Model, a participatory platform for addressing taxpayers’ concerns and using feedback to inform continuous policy and administrative improvement in revenue systems.

Representing KADIRS, the Public Relations Officer, Mr. Zakari Jamilu, shared insights on sustainable communication strategies that strengthen taxpayer relationships and enhance transparency in tax administration.

He emphasised how feedback channels and media engagements have significantly improved responsiveness, accountability, and confidence in Kaduna’s revenue system, serving as a model for others.

According to Olatunde, interactive sessions during the training, enabled participants from Zamfara to gain practical insights into grievance redress systems, taxpayer education, and collaborative institutional mechanisms adaptable to Zamfara’s tax administration context.

The training, he said marked a milestone in ZIRS’s ongoing institutional reforms to strengthen revenue administration, improve service delivery, and uphold professionalism, excellence, and continuous capacity development.(NAN)