Fake Tax Certificates: FG Orders MDAs’ Authentication Before Payment
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – The Federal Government has directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to henceforth authenticate all Tax Clearance Certificates (TCCs) by companies and individuals engaged in public procurement processes.
Accordingly, the MDAs are required to authenticate all TCCs prior to making any payment. The directive is in response to the proliferation of forged TCCs purportedly issued prior to the automation of the certificates from August 22, 2017.
A circular issued on Tuesday by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun stated that the TCCs’ validation will enhance the integrity of the tax system, adding that the 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.
A statement by the Special Adviser, Media and Communications, to the Minister of Finance, Oluyinka Akintunde said; “For TCCs issued before 22nd August, 2017, the Circular advised the MDAs and other stakeholders to forward a list of the companies and photocopies of the TCCs to the office of the Executive Chairman, FIRS for authentication. The FIRS has undertaken to verify the TCCs within 72 hours of receipt.”
It further stated that; “The Minister reminds Company Directors that possession is an offense. The now outdated manual system allowed production of forged TCCs.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.”
She said the Federal Ministry of Finance and the FIRS would continue to work in partnership with government at all levels and stakeholders towards eradicating tax fraud and evasion.
“The Federal Government, it will be recalled, had in January 2018 directed vendors of MDAs to display their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) on their invoices before payments are effected. The non-presentation of a TIN by the vendors largely contributed to leakages in revenue remittances, particularly Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT)”, the statement said.
