COVER
FCT Generates N203.1bn IGR in 2023, to Double Figure in 2024
By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) said it generated over N203.1 billion in 2023, an increase over the N124 billion it realized in 2022.
Acting Executive Chairman of the Service, Mr Haruna Abdullahi who disclosed this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja said the service projects to generate N250 billion in 2024.
He said, “the Tax Revenue Collection of the FCT-IRS grew from barely N46 billion in 2017 to over N124 billion in 2022 indicating over 270% growth.
“At this point, I would like to inform the general public that as at 19th December 2023, the FCT-IRS for the first time since its inception in 2015 has exceeded the N200 billion mark by generating the sum of N203,147,090,410.
5 as annual revenue for the year 2023.“This is a huge milestone for the Service and it represents about 63.34% increase in collection from the preceding year.
“For the year 2024, FCT-IRS has a target of N250 billion (Two-hundred and Fifty Billion Naira), we are determined and optimistic that we will realize and surpass that, with the committed and dedicated staff of the Service, support from the FCT Administration, the National Assembly and other key stakeholders especially our esteemed taxpayers, it is achievable and the task ahead is surmountable.”
He said the taxpayer base of the FCT has grown from about 543,969 for individuals and 284,746 for non-individuals in 2015 to 1,108,162 for individuals and 389,981 for non-individuals in 2023.
“In collaboration with other sister agencies in the FCT, the FCT-IRS has commenced enforcement of Section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act, 2011 (as amended) and Section 31 of the FCT IRS Act, 2015 for MDAs, FCT SDAs, Commercial Banks, and other Corporate bodies to demand and verify TCC as precondition for rendering services in FCT,” he stated.
According to him, the service has invested in modern working tools such as hardware and software, adding that the processes of registration, payment, receipting, assessment, Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) issuance, filing of returns, TCC verification, and generation of withholding tax credit note have all been automated.
“In order to encourage voluntary compliance and to allow taxpayers perform their tax obligations at the comfort of their homes or offices, the FCT-IRS Self Service portal (www.fctirs.gov.ng) enables Taxpayers to perform functions such as; request for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), file annual returns, make payment and request for TCC.
“As part of our efforts to ensure compliance with filing of returns, the Service will in accordance with the tax laws apply a penalty for non-filing of annual returns by 31st January of every year for employers and 31st March of every year for individuals. A comprehensive reassessment of returns will be intensified, which will be followed by constant monitoring and compliance exercises.
“The Service will further employ the use of technology to enhance its operations mainly in the area of compliance, enforcement and also seek to consolidate the culture of transparency and accountability in order to build trust and cooperation between the service and the taxpayers.
“The focus will be in the deployment of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, collaboration tools, business process automation and data analytical tools to facilitate compliance and performance of routine tasks aimed at encouraging voluntary compliance and ease of doing business.
“As from January 2024, the Service shall embark on intensive enforcement exercise by ensuring that all relevant provisions of the tax laws are strictly complied with accordingly.
“For avoidance of doubt, section 32 of FCT-IRS Act, 2015 empowers the Chairman of the Service to authorize any Officer of the Service to have free access to properties and records of taxpayers for the purpose of compliance with the tax laws.
“The Service will not only hesitate to prosecute tax offenders through the instrumentality of the law but will ensure that all tax due to FCT are recovered.
“To comply with the ease of doing business initiative, the Service will open more tax offices across the six Area Councils in FCT and at strategic locations or centers within the metropolis for convenience of the taxpayers and further streamline services, making the tax offices accessible to a broader population and contributing to overall organizational growth.
“Additionally, a state of the art headquarters will be constructed, not only to provide for coordination of operations but also reflect our commitment to excellence.
“To attract and retain young talents, the Service will embark on providing targeted training programmes towards ensuring employees stay updated with industry trends and by also providing staff with modern working tools to foster efficiency and innovation”, he added.
By David Torough, Abuja
Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has declared 281 inmates missing from the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Maiduguri, Borno State.
NCoS said this followed an evacuation after the flood that engulfed the state capital.
A statement onby the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Mr Abubakar Umar yesterday in Abuja said seven other inmates had been recaptured.
Umar said that the service was in custody of the details of the missing inmates, including their biometrics.
“The flood brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial centre Maiduguri (MSCC) as well as the staff quarters in the city.
“Upon the evacuation of inmates by officers of the service with support from sister security agencies to a safe and secure facility, 281 inmates were observed to be missing.
“However, it is important to note that the service is in custody of their details, including their biometrics, which is being made available to the public.
“The service is working in synergy with other security agencies as both covert and overt deployments have been activated to look out for them.
“Presently, a total of seven (7) inmates have been recaptured and returned to custody, while efforts are on ground to track down the rest and bring them back to safe custody.“While this effort is on, the public is assured that the incident does not impede or affect public safety,” he said.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
After controversies, trucks from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) yesterday lifted petrol from the Dangote Refinery.
NNPCL revealed that Dangote Refinery sold the fuel at N898 per litre.
The national oil company began loading yesterday after moving about 300 trucks to the 650,000 capacity refinery Dangote Refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
Its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye was quoted as saying, “We successfully loaded PMS at the Dangote Refinery today [Sunday].
”“The claim that we purchased it at N760 per liter is incorrect.
“For this initial loading, the price from the refinery was N898 per liter.
”At least, over 70 trucks had loaded at the time of this report.
This marks an end to the month-long debate over the quality and sale of the Dangote petrol.
Speaking to newsmen at the refinery, the Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin described the commencement of the petrol lifting moment of pride to every Nigerian.
He said, “My President has been showing presentations that 52 years ago, we were trying to see how to solve the problem of PMS supply and the queues. Now, after 52 years, we have a solution.
“And the solution is local production of PMS and it is from a Nigerian oil company. And as EPC contractor, it was constructed by a Nigerian company.
“So, it’s a matter of pride that a Nigerian oil company, constructed by a Nigerian-owned company, is able to generate PMS from the local crude and daily will not only to meet the entire requirement of Nigeria, but can also have surplus to export. So, it is a time and moment of great pride to every Nigerian.”
Edwin said 44 percent of the PMS production from the Dangote refinery can meet the requirement of the entire country.
“If you look at the refinery as a whole, PMS alone, every day, 650,000 barrels of crude if we’re processing, we can generate more than 54 million litres of PMS.
“And, of course, the refinery has the capacity to produce various other products too. 44% of the production can meet the entire requirement of the country, 56% of the production has to be exported. “So, it is a huge refinery. So, it is not only going to be doing import substitution, but it is also going to make Forex generation through export revenue.
“The gantries are actually 86 and they can load 86 trucks at a go,” he said.
Last Friday, in Abuja, a member of the Presidential Committee on the Sale of Crude Oil and Refined Product and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji confirmed that the NNPCL remains the sole buyer of petrol from the Dangote refinery while willing off-takers are free to lift diesel and other products from the refinery.
According to Adedeji, the NNPCL would further distribute to other independent marketers after lifting from the refinery.
He said the nation’s oil company will commence the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery in naira from October 1.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a new directive to Payment Service Providers (PSPs), requiring them to comply with enhanced routing guidelines for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions.This move is aimed at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria.
The directive issued on Wednesday aims at strengthening the monitoring of electronic transactions across Nigeria following CBN’s initiative to diversify the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator (PTSA) structure, which previously operated through a single aggregator. In a circular signed by Oladimeji Yisa Taiwo on behalf of the CBN Payments System Management Department, the apex bank mandates that all PoS transactions from merchant and agent locations—whether physical or electronic—must now be routed through any CBN-licensed PTSA.The directive is part of efforts to decentralize PoS transaction routing and address concerns over the centralization of such transactions under a single entity.In Aug. 2011, the CBN initially granted a PTSA license to the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc to serve as the sole aggregator of PoS transactions.However, to promote competition and enhance service delivery, the CBN awarded a second PTSA license to Unified Payment Services Limited (UPSL) on April 19.This development aims to reduce the dependence on a single aggregator for the management of PoS transactions, promoting transparency and operational efficiency in Nigeria’s growing electronic payments landscape.
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