FCT launches e-tax clearance certificate to curb fraud

The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service says it has introduced Electronic Tax Clearance Certificate (E-TCC) to improve service delivery and prevent fraudsters from forging tax-related documents.

Haruna Abdullahi, acting executive chairman of the service, stated this during engagement with the members of the House of Representatives committee on public accounts in Abuja.

Abdullahi explained that the E-TCC has fortified the process thereby making it difficult for anyone to forge such document because of the introduction of QR CODE. He said this effort would help the service not to be short-changed as well as boost revenue for the FCT administration.

He described a tax clearance certificate (TCC) as a document issued by the tax authority to certify that an individual or a business is compliant with the appropriate requirements as stated by law within a stipulated period of time usually for the three preceding years.

Abdullahi, however, quoted section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act 2011 as amended, which states that “whenever the relevant tax authority is of the opinion that tax assessed on the income of a person for the three years immediately preceding the current year of assessment has been fully paid or that no tax is due on income or that the person is not liable to tax for any of those three years, it shall issue a tax clearance certificate to the person within two weeks of demand for the certificate by that person or give reasons for the denial.”

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According to him, while issuing a tax clearance certificate, due diligence must be carried out to ensure certain conditions were met by the taxpayers and satisfied by a tax authority.

He stated that the application for TCC must be made and duly endorsed by the taxpayer and the annual income declaration form A and three years income declaration form must also duly completed and signed by the taxpayer.

The FCT-IRS boss also noted that personal emoluments which comprise wages or salaries, including allowances, benefits in kind, gratuities, superannuation or pension schemes and any other income derived solely by reason of employment are declared.

Abdullahi added that income declared must be verified, satisfied, and evidence of such income sighted, while benefit in kind must also be verified based on section 4 of PITA 2011.

Also speaking, chairman of the House committee on public accounts, Oluwole Oke urged the general public and taxpayers to report any violation of the law regarding the issuance of TCC to the management of FCT-IRS.