FIRS Generates N23bn from Defaulting Corporate Accounts
The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, Thursday announced a revenue generation of N23bn from defaulting corporate accounts.
Fowler said this was through imposition of restriction on the accounts until the organizations paid.
Speaking during an interactive Forum with members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on tax matters, said the focus was on 3000 companies which defaulted in Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) of the federal government.
He said the companies had no tax identification numbers and could not remit any taxes to the federal government.
Fowler however said the exercise was suspended about a month ago following pressure on their administrative offices as affected organizations came to regularize their tax affairs and the delay in lifting the lien on their accounts.
He disclosed that the FIRS has already asked banks to lift the liens on the affected banks so that the organizations can clear whatever is against them.
He said, “Our position was that if you charge VAT, which is not your money; or deduct Withholding Tax from vendors and you have no tax identification, you cannot even pay tax to the FIRS because you can’t pay without tax identification. So, these operators were defrauding the society and the nation by charging consumers VAT, by deducting Withholding Tax and not remitting on behalf of other taxpayers. We had over 3,000 of such and we said if they do not come forward, we’d follow the law and do what they call substitution. Now, what the Act actually says is that the banks should deduct the amount of taxes from accounts. We, however, told the banks not to deduct the amounts, but put a lien on those accounts and let the taxpayers come forward. And till date, over N23billion has been paid on those accounts.”
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