The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has stated that it is a self funding agency and over the years, its revenue has dwindled because of government’s policy on ease of doing business.
Abubakakar Garba, CAC Registrar General said this Wednesday when he led management of the agency to
an investigative hearing into the under-remittances by some government agencies by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance in Abuja.
Garba disclosed that there has always been an inter Ministerial Committee on ease of doing business which was under the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and the effect was the reduction in its fees before the present administration came on board.
While highlighting the revenue generated and remittances made to the government treasury, the Registrar General said, in 2014, CAC generated N13.096 billion and remitted N600 million while in 2015, it remitted 400 million out of 12.8 billion Naira.
“On how much we are owing the government, It depends on the interpretation of the law. The law supersedes the rules. Regulations can not be inconsistent with the substantive law. At the extent this inconsistency it’s null and void.
“Our actions are guided by directives that took us down from the agencies responsible for enforcing these directives and that’s why we had to go to Accountant General office to present our case”, Garba noted.
The Committee not satisfied with the submissions of the CAC directed the Director General to go and come back next Wednesday with all relevant documents including detailed income and expenditure to see what the agency deducted to arrive at the figures before it.
Chairman of the Committee, James Faleke also directed the CAC Director General to provide original copies of Treasury receipts and payments of VAT and WHT to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as well as bank statements, monthly inflows and outflows, account numbers and bank details used by the Commission.
On the issue of regulation raised by Garba, Faleke said, “the law is superior to regulations,” however observed that “regulations are also made pursuant from enabling provisions of the law. They are the vehicles for conveying the law intends to convey. So to sit here and say that regulations are inconsistent with the law is beyond you”.
James Kwen, Abuja
