30 Seconds With…Sebastine Odimma, Head of Country Tax, Moller Maersk (Nigeria)

Sebastine Odimma is the latest interview in our ‘30 Seconds With’ series. As one of Nigeria’s leading tax practitioners, we took the opportunity to get to know Sebastine before he speaks at our TP Minds Africa conference this November.

What are you currently spending most of your time on?

In recent months, I have been spending most of my time on audits and queries from the tax authorities. I guess the drop in oil revenue has led to increased aggression from the tax authorities.

What is the biggest challenge facing Transfer Pricing professionals in your particular industry at the moment?

The biggest challenge is consistency in applying OECD principles across different regions.

What should a successful post-BEPS transfer pricing strategy look like?

A successful post-BEPS transfer pricing strategy will have to be detailed and explained in a relatable language for different parts of the business to understand. Furthermore, companies will have to incorporate data gathered from different regions in order to create transparency.

Which areas of TP do you think the next wave of transfer pricing controversy will come from?

The next of wave of controversy will come from litigation. I am of the view that tax judges have not been properly trained on TP rules.

Which jurisdictions are likely to be keeping the Head of TP awake at night?

Africa - with the revelations in Europe, Africa’s tax authorities are coming up with creative ways to ensure a fair share of tax is paid in Africa.

What advice would you give an aspiring TP professional?

Be grounded in TP methodologies and be concise when explaining positions to the tax authorities

You will be speaking at TP Minds Africa in November. What are you most looking forward to?

I am looking forward to the opportunities to share current challenges facing multinationals in Nigeria.

Tell us a little known fact about yourself.

Little known fact about me – I was a Biochemistry lecturer before venturing into taxes.

Sebastine Odimma

http://www.maersk.com

Sebastine is responsible for the tax affairs of approximately eight Maersk companies in Nigeria. The Maersk companies cover shipping, terminal operations, logistics and oil and gas. In his role, he supervises tax compliance, transfer pricing risk assessment of related party transactions, tax strategy and tax advisory on any inbound investment.

Before joining the Maersk Group, he spent nine years in KPMG Professional services in Kenya, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. He has led teams on review of Petroleum Profits Taxes, Companies Income Tax Planning & Compliance services, Withholding Tax Planning & Management, Due Diligence Projects, Transfer Pricing reviews. He has several years of experience providing advisory opinions on several business options, provision of support on big mergers and acquisitions in Nigeria.