FIRS Tells Bank Customers To Complete Self-Certification Process

FIRS Tells Bank Customers To Complete Self-Certification Process

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Thursday directed all account holders in financial institutions in the country to complete a self-certification forms to be obtained from their banks or insurance companies.

The statement which was posted on the Twitter handle of @nigeriagov stated that the forms was meant to carry out due diligence procedures in line with the income tax regulations of 2019.

According to the FIRS, The self-certification form is in 3 categories: which include form for entity, form for controlling person, that is individuals having a controlling interest in a legal person, trustee, etc and form for individuals.

The tax authority said failure to execute the forms as directed would attract sanction which could be monetary and lien on such account.

“This is to notify the general public that all account holders in Financial Institutions (Banks, Insurance Companies, etc) are required to obtain, complete and submit Self – Certification Forms to their respective Financial Institutions.

“The persons holding accounts in different financial institutions is required to complete & submit the form to each one of the institutions. The forms are required by the relevant financial institutions to carry out due diligence procedures in line with the Income Tax Regulations 2019

“Failure to comply with the requirement to administer or execute this form attracts sanctions which may include monetary penalty or inability to operate the account,” the FIRS stated in the tweet.

Many are, however asking what happens to Nigerians abroad who still operate local bank accounts, how are they going to comply with the fresh requirements by the government.

The new directive may also lead to a surge in the number of people visiting their banks, leading to congestion in the banking hall, especially against the backdrop of ongoing management of covid-19 by the government.

Meanwhile, the tax service said it generated a total of N490 billion tax in July 2020, with the non-oil sector dominating collection for the period.

It said Non-oil receipts have continued to contribute about 75-90 percent of total tax revenue in recent months.

The FIRS said out of N490 bill collected by the service in July, “N52 billion, representing 11 percent came from Oil sources while N438 billion, representing 89 percent came from Non-oil receipts.”