Wike Approves 3yrs Imprisonment For Tax Defaulters

By Remi Johnson

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has approved the implementation of the Personal Income Tax Act and the FCT Internal Revenue Service Act 2015.

To this end, workers and individuals in the territory will hence forth be required to show their Tax Clearance Certificate before they can access any form of services in the nation’s capital.

Mandate Secretary of the Economic Planning, Revenue Generation, and Public Private Secretariat, Chinedum Elechi, who made this known at a media conference in Abuja, warned that by Section 85 of the PITA, anyone who provided false information or obtained fake TCC was liable to a fine of N50,000 or a three year jail term or both, upon conviction.

Elechi also said a government entity or organization that failed to verify a TCC was liable to a fine of N5m or a three year jail term or both, upon conviction.

According to him, by this development, all Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, Commercial banks; and FCT Secretariats, Departments and Agencies, SDAs, have been enjoined to ensure strict compliance with the laws particularly section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act, and Section 31 of the FCT Internal Revenue Service Act 2015.

Elechi stressed that such transactions include Certificate of Ocupancy, award of contracts, approval of building plans, application for FCTA loans for housing, business or any other purpose, registration of motor vehicles, among others.

He also explained that Section 31 of the FCT-IRS Act provided that all SDAs, corporate bodies, or any person empowered by law, shall demand a TCC from any person or enterprises for the last three years “preceding the current year of assessment as a precondition for transacting any business in the FCT”.

Elechi appealed to residents to pay their taxes and obtain their TCCs.

“I am here today to announce that the Minister of the FCT, has approved the implementation of Section 85 of Personal Income Tax Act ,PITA, and Section 31 of the FCT Internal Revenue Service Act, 2015. Implementation of these laws is intended to ensure that all eligible taxpayers in the FCT comply with their tax obligations.This will ensure that the FCT Administration gets the required resources it needs to provide essential services to FCT residents,”

“Taxes are essential to the foundation of any government, and it is important that everyone pays their fair share. Payment of tax is a civic duty and responsibility. Implementation of these laws is intended to ensure that all eligible taxpayers in the FCT comply with their tax obligations”.Elechi said.

The FCT minister, Nyesom Wike had at a session with revenue generating agencies 3 weeks ago said that FCT targets to generate N250 billion IGR on a monthly basis.

The Executive Chairman, FCT-IRS, Mr Haruna Abdullah while responding to questions on the capacity to meet the demand of the taxpayers, said the Service currently has about 600 employees, 16 offices across the territory and intends to increase the number of the offices to 20 by the end of 2024.

The FCT -IRS Boss who also hinted that the Service would commission a “Self-service portal” in the next10 days to make transactions easier for taxpayers, assured that there will be an electronic platform for taxpayers to report any difficulty they face for prompt intervention.

“We have been preparing for this implementation. We have deliberately trained our employees in terms of customer service and technical issues relating to how they relate to taxpayers.

“Apart from that also, we have self-service portal. We don’t expect everybody to come to our offices. You can stay in your home, offices and file your returns, make your payments and apply for your Tax Clearance Certificate.

“That also, we believe will take away the pressure from our offices, but our offices
are ready to take in as many people, as we expect this influx. Certainly, I think the Service is absolutely ready to take up the challenge”, Abdullahi said.

Edited By Grace Namiji