No tax clearance, no car registration, no building approval in FCT — IRS

Reports reaching us at iDeemlawful reveals that, The Acting Chairman of, Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service, FCT-IRS, Haruna Abdullahi, says FCT residents will henceforth present Tax Clearance Certificate, TCC, to carry out certain transactions.

Mr Abdullahi said this at a Town Hall Meeting organised by the service in Abuja.

The theme of the meeting is, “Demand and Verification of TCC by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, Secretariat, Department and Agencies, SDAs, commercial banks and corporate bodies.

He said it would no longer be business as usual for residents, adding that transactions such as obtaining of car registration and building approval would no longer be possible without TCC.

Other transactions that require TCC according to him include appointment or election into office, and stamping of guarantors’ form for a Nigerian passport among others.

“This gathering is timely and relevant as we aim to provide guidance and insight on the need to demand and verify a TCC.

“This is as stated in the information circular issued by the service on Nov. 4 and Nov. 7 in newspapers within the FCT and national dailies across the country,” he said.

The acting chairman urged FCT residents and relevant stakeholders to choose voluntary compliance over compulsion.

“It is imperative that a TCC is demanded as a pre-condition for various transactions in the FCT.

“It is also instructive to note that the law requires such from MDAs and commercial banks.

“Individuals and business owners residing in FCT can easily access a Tax Clearance through our effective and efficient channels,” he said.

He said failure of relevant agencies to demand and verify TCC presented by an individual could amount to sanctions.

Mr Abdullahi said the sanctions could include conviction with a fine of five million Naira or three years imprisonment or both as stipulated by relevant tax laws.

The FCT-IRS boss said as the relevant tax authority for Personal Income Tax (PIT) administrations, the service had vital role in ensuring strict adherence.

Mr Abdullahi urged FCT residents to choose voluntary compliance over compulsion, adding that compulsion would only be its last resort.

He said the service had trained its staff on effective monitoring and enforcement procedures.

Mr Abdullahi also said that the members of staff had been trained to investigate violations of any aspect of the tax laws.

According to Abdullahi, while the service is working toward providing taxpayer-centred services, it will not hesitate to take punitive measures on defaulters.

On the process of verification, the acting chairman said the process was easy.

He said, “an authenticator can easily scan the quick response (QR) code on the TCC using any android or IOS device to check the genuineness of the TCC.

“However, substantiating genuineness is not enough for revenue mobilisation.

“The relationship between the taxes paid as displayed on the TCC and the total and global income of individuals holding the TCC must align.

“For example, an application for estate development or building approval that presents a TCC with tax paid as low as N50,000 can never be justified.”

The FCT-IRS acting chairman said the service had deployed a variety of measures to ease taxpayer services, while leveraging on technology.

He said the filing of tax returns and making of payments had been fully automated.

He also said that the service had fully integrated with the Joint Tax Board, JTB, nationwide platform for uniformity of standards in application of PIT.

The town hall meeting had in attendance representatives of MDAs, SDAS, council chairmen and other relevant stakeholders.