…defaulters face jail term
Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory has approved the implementation of Section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) and Section 31 of the FCT Internal Revenue Service Act, 2015, as part of efforts to boost revenue.
According to provisions of the laws, this means commercial banks, Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs); Commercial banks; and FCT Secretariats, Departments, and Agencies (SDAs) will henceforth demand and verify Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) before providing services to individuals, corporate organizations in the capital city.
Chinedum Elechi, mandate secretary, Economic Planning Revenue Generation and Public Private Partnership Secretariat, of the Federal Capital Territory Administration made this known at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
Section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act, 2011 provides that MDAs or a Commercial Bank with whom any person has any dealing shall demand from the person TCC for the immediate past three years preceding the current year of assessment and shall also verify its authenticity by the issuing Tax Authority before carrying out any of those transactions.
It also provides that for purposes of obtaining a TCC, any person who gives incorrect information or obtains a TCC through misrepresentation forgery, or falsification is guilty of an offense and liable on conviction to a fine of N50,000, plus twice the tax payable by him/her, or to imprisonment for three years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
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Similarly, a person, be it a government organization or corporate entity to whom Section 85 applies, who fails to demand for, or verify a TCC, is guilty of an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000,000 or to imprisonment for 3 years or both fine and imprisonment.
Elechi urged all individual(s), corporations, corporation-soles, trustees, or executors, having an income that is chargeable with tax under any law, to ensure that they pay their taxes, obtain their TCCs, and present them whenever required.
“The primary mandate of government is to provide security and welfare of the people. This cannot be achieved if citizens do not pay their taxes as and when due. Taxes are essential to the foundation of any government, and it is important that everyone pays their fair share”, he said.
“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”, he added.
