• Legislative provisions relating to taxes, levies, duties and foreign exchange regulations shall not apply within the Free Zone • Ease of remittance of profits and dividends earned by foreign investors in the Free Zone • No requirement for import or export licences • Rent free land at construction stage • No restriction on the employment of foreign managers and qualified employees. Similarly, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act 1992 facilitates and promotes local and international investment into licenced free zones in Nigeria. The Act provides for the following incentives: • Complete tax holiday with respect to legislative provisions on taxes, levies, duties and foreign exchange regulations • No import or export licences are required • Ability to sell up to 25% of production in the customs territory against a valid permit and on payment of appropriate duties • One-stop approval for all permits, operating licenses and incorporation papers; • 100% foreign ownership of business in the zones is permitted; • Repatriation of foreign capital investment at any time, with capital appreciation of investments; • Waiver of all import and export licenses; • Waiver on all expatriate quotas for companies operating in the zones; • Prohibition of strikes and lockouts; and • Rent-free land during the first 6 months of construction (for government-owned zones). Immigration, Employment and Local Content Generally, the foundation of labour law in Nigeria is the common law. The main statutes that apply to employment and labour relations in Nigeria include: (i) the Labour Act 2004, (ii) the Trade Dispute Act, (iii) the Trade Unions Act, (iv) the Employee Compensation Act (v) and the Pension ReformAct. As it relates to employer-employee relations, the terms of an employment contract and the employee handbook/manual would govern the terms of service and termination. Usually, the employee handbook/manual
would provide for action which could be considered as grave and could lead to the dismissal of the employee. Nigerian courts have held in a number of cases that an employer is not under any obligation to disclose its reasons for terminating an employee. Therefore an employer can terminate the contract of employment with his worker at any time and for any reason, provided that the terms of the contract of service between them are complied with. An employee can raise a claim where he contends that his contract was wrongfully terminated by his employer. The onus is on the employee who alleges that the termination or dismissal was wrongful to place before the court the terms of the employment contract and to prove in what manner the said terms were breached by the employer. In certain situations, an employer may desire to use independent contractors rather than hiring an employee. However, an independent contractor’s status is determined by the level of control exercised by the employer over that contractor. An employer may be held vicariously liable for torts committed by an employee. The Labour Act primarily regulates employment relations in Nigeria with respect to manual labour and clerical work. Disputes that arise from labour related matters are resolved by the National Industrial Court. Employment of Foreign Nationals The Immigration Act 2015 and the Immigration Regulations of 2017 (made pursuant to the Act) provide that any form of employment of a foreigner requires employers to apply for an expatriate quota and to obtain the written consent of the Comptroller-General of Immigration. Employers are required to obtain an expatriate quota in order to employ foreign nationals in specifically approved job designations. Two types of visas may be granted, depending on the length of stay. For short-term assignments, an employer must apply for and receive a temporary work permit allowing the employee to carry out specific tasks. The temporary work permit is a single-entry visa and expires after three months. There are no numerical limitations on short-term visas, so foreign nationals who meet the conditions for grant of a visa may apply for as many short-term visas as they require. In addition, in 2017 the Nigerian Immigration Service announced the introduction of a ‘visa on arrival’ facility available to citizens of all countries except Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS ) nationals, who do not require a visa to visit Nigeria.
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