VAT Compliance Management and Business Operations in the Hospitality Industry in Rivers State

This research investigates how VAT compliance obligations are managed within hospitality businesses in Rivers State, South South Nigeria, and the operational challenges arising from these obligations. The hospitality industry, encompassing hotels, restaurants, event centres, and leisure facilities, is a significant VAT-collection point, with businesses required to charge, collect, and remit VAT on taxable supplies. Port Harcourt, as the commercial capital of the Niger Delta, hosts a substantial hospitality sector that warrants dedicated study. Using a professional practitioner-focused mixed-methods approach, the study collects primary data from compliance officers and general managers at 50 registered hospitality businesses through detailed questionnaires and structured interviews. Secondary data from the FIRS VAT compliance database and industry association reports are incorporated. Data are analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and thematic analysis. The study expects to find significant operational bottlenecks around monthly VAT returns, including challenges in distinguishing taxable from exempt supplies, difficulties with the electronic invoicing requirement, and insufficient back-office capacity for accurate VAT accounting. Recommendations include deploying FIRS-approved point-of-sale VAT accounting software, creating an industry-specific VAT compliance guide for the hospitality sector, and offering a simplified VAT cash accounting scheme for small hospitality operators below a defined revenue threshold. This study provides PGD-level professional insight into sectoral VAT management challenges in Nigeria's oil-producing region. Keywords: VAT compliance, hospitality industry, Rivers State, tax management, operations.