BY Oluseyi Awojulugbe
Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, says ministries, departments and agencies of government must confirm the authenticity of tax clearance certificates presented by contractors before approving payment.
According to a statement signed by Oluyinka Akintunde, the minister’s spokesman, the directive is in response to the prevalence of forged certificates by contractors.
Adeosun said some contractors tender certificates purportedly issued before the automation of certificates on August 22, 2017.
“Electronic TCCS (e-TCCs) can be verified via logging into https//tcc.firs.gov.ng and taking the following steps: click on verify e-TCC, enter the TCC number and complete the captcha, and click on submit to view the TCC number entered,” the statement read.
For TCCs issued before August 22, MDAs were advised to forward a list of the companies and photocopies of the TCCs to the Federal Inland Revenue Service for authentication, which is expected to take 72 hours.
“The now outdated manual system allowed production of forged TCCs. Companies and individuals in doubt as to the authenticity of their TCCs are advised to take advantage of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) to regularise.”
In January 2018, the ministry directed contractors to display their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) on their invoices before payments.
It said the non-presentation of a TIN by the contractor translates to leakages in revenue remittances, particularly Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT).
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