TheCable

The Kogi Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) says it is working to automate the process of revenue collection in the state.

Yusufu Abubakar, acting chairman of KGIRS, made this known at a media parley in Lokoja, the state capital, on Friday.

Abubakar, who assumed office in December 2020, said his focus has been on how to stop leakage and enhance the revenue of the state.

He said KGIRS has decided to automate tax payment, vehicle registration, licensing and renewal in the state to check fraudulent activities.

The acting chairman said the agency has engaged a partner to automate the process of revenue collection in the state, adding that progress will be recorded within the next 90 days.

“We have been battling to fix things aright, to see how we can change the trajectory, change the focus of what we have been doing at Kogi Internal Revenue Service,” he said.

“We want a situation whereby the shop owner that is directly opposite the Revenue House does not actually need to go to the bank next street for him to make payments.

“As we speak we have engaged a partner for us to be able to automate all our processes of assessment and collection which takes the bulk of what we do.

“And all I would say now is, I believe within the next 90 days we should be able to achieve at the very least, 50 per cent to 70 per cent of automating our processes.”

Abubakar said the agency is working to ensure that the process of renewing vehicle documents becomes easy for residents.

He said vehicle owners would be able to access the platform for making such renewals and paying the required fees themselves.

“We are also looking at a situation whereby the person that wants to register a new vehicle could also go to our link and choose the plate number and tell us where to deliver it,” he said.