By Tony Obiechina, ABUJA
The Presidency on Monday directed personal data collecting agencies to release all relevant individual records to the Joint Tax Board (JTB).
Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo gave the order in Abuja at The Go-Live ceremony for the new National TIN Registration System.
He ordered that “all agencies critical to the optimal success of this initiative, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBBS), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), are hereby directed to provide the fullest co-operation to the JTB especially in the release of the relevant individual records”.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo gave the order after the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) Mr. Tunde Fowler had revealed that “while we are yet to take delivery of taxpayer data from some of the organizations such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) via the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBBS), and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), we believe that today’s ceremony will reinforce the need for us to work together as one to promote the Economic and Recovery Growth Plan of Mr. President. So we will like to thank them in anticipation of their commitment to release the required data to JTB.”
Fowler also disclosed that “for the first time in the history of Nigeria, the Federal Government paid all outstanding PAYE tax liabilities owed by Federal MDAs from 2002 to 2016, totaling N135.8 billion to the various State Governments in May 2019.”
This gesture on the part of the federal government he pleaded “will encourage State Governments to also promptly remit all Withholding Taxes and VAT due to the Federation Account.”
Speaking on The Go-Live project, Fowler noted that “Tax Authorities are poised to change the financial profile of Nigeria and particularly, lay a strong financial foundation to fund government at all tiers beyond aid, grants and borrowing.”
He added that new realities are driving “the desire by the JTB to ensure that the identification of individuals and corporate bodies in Nigeria is achievable. It is not only important that these records are available, it is equally important that the records are credible and reliable and that they are accessible under a secure environment, online real-time” he said.
For the revenue potentials of Nigeria to be maximally harnessed, Fowler said “it is essential that credible and reliable data is available for use. Such records are also essential to facilitate the ease of doing business and for the nation to achieve its overarching economic objectives in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).”
The FIRS and the JTB he assured are confident that the new system will add immense value to tax-revenue administration in the country, not only in terms of processes and procedures, but in terms of efficiency and ensuring a coordinated and systematic approach towards managing revenue generation as well as tax information sharing between and among tax authorities both within and outside the
country.
The new system he added provides immense benefits to the taxpayers. When operational, “the consolidated database apart from providing a unique identity to the taxpayer also facilitates ease of compliance. It limits the incidence of double taxation and is a prerequisite for a number of transactions such as sale and purchase of immoveable property, registration of vehicles, applications for plot of land import and export licence, registration as a contractor, entry visas among others. Ultimately, the system promotes the ease of doing business for both individuals and corporate bodies.”
In his address, Oseni Elamah, Executive Secretary of JTB said “the new TIN Registration System and its consolidated database of individual and corporate taxpayer records have been designed to become the foundation on which the nation’s automated tax administration system is built on.”
The new TIN Registration System he explained is a web-based solution “offering access to authorized users to initiate TIN request from the comfort of their homes/offices real-time online, verify their tax status and print their TIN certificate. It is a transparent system that assures timely and accurate collection and recording of basic identification data. It also permits the tax administrator to understand its taxpayer base for effective revenue projections and other planning activities.”
He noted that the new system “leverages on existing data from relevant identity management agencies to reduce the burden of multiple registration of taxpayers, promote the ease of doing business and paying taxes. It also ensures seamless integration and exchange of information amongst the various tax authorities within and outside the country, as well as with other authorized third-party organizations, agencies and institutions via web service. The main benefits of the new System are that it is innovative, provides confidence and inspires transparency.”
Partners and collaboration agencies for the Go-Live TIN project are; Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System
(NIBSS), Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
