The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has put in place machinery to ease issuance of 2020 tax clearance certificate (TCC) to all eligible taxpayers in the country.
The Service is offering a 30-day window – from January 2 to January 31, 2020 – to enable taxpayers obtain tax clearance certificate.
The move is to assist taxpayers to meet obligations that may require tax clearance certificate, Muhammad Nami, executive chairman of FIRS, said.
In a notice he personally signed which was issued in Abuja on Sunday, Nami noted that the offer to ease issuance of TCC is in accordance with the provisions of Section 101 (1) of CITA LFN 2004 and in conformity with Self-Assessment Regulation, 2011.
“Following the numerous complaints received from our esteemed taxpayers with respect to difficulties encountered before obtaining Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) and the fact that taxpayers need TCC to enable them to, inter alia, seek and obtain contracts and loans, renew permits, registrations, franchises, agreements and/or licences that will invariably generate revenue from which taxes will be paid, management has looked into the above complaints and has taken steps to ease the process of obtaining TCC,” Nami said.
“Consequently, notice is hereby given that the Service has put in place machinery to issue 2020 TCC for all eligible taxpayers from 2nd January to 31st January, 2020,” he said.
He warned that FIRS would not fail to invoke the provisions of the law, including enforcement and imposition of lien, should it be apparent that a taxpayer has misled the Service to issue a TCC.
“The Service may not hesitate to use enforcement activities including imposition of lien on bank accounts of such defaulting companies to recover any outstanding debts when it discovers that the taxpayer has misled the Service in her duty to observe tax compliance,” Nami said.
“The issuance of TCC to ease the burden of taxpayers is in line with the provisions of Section 101 (1) of CITA LFN 2004 and in conformity with Self-Assessment Regulation, 2011. Taxpayers are therefore encouraged to take advantage of this initiative and apply for their 2020 TCC, as soon as possible,” he said in the notice.
JAMES KWEN, Abuja
