FCT-IRS frowns at payment of Withholding Tax to wrong tax jurisdictions
FCT Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS), has urged Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and contractors in the territory to remit Withholding Taxes (WHT) appropriately.
Its spokesman, Mr Mustapha Sumaila, noted in a statement he issued on Sunday in Abuja that many organisations erroneously remitted withholding taxes meant for the FCT-IRS to other tax authorities.
He stressed that it was important for taxpayers to understand tax jurisdiction rules.
According to him, WHT for limited liability companies is remitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) while WHT for Enterprises and Individual contractors goes to Internal Revenue Services of states or to FCT-IRS.
“We have observed instances where wrong tax jurisdiction is entered on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform by MDAs’ desk officers.
“This error can lead to contractors suffering loss of WHT credit and relevant tax authority experiencing revenue loss.
“The beneficiary of the WHT may also be denied the WHT credit.
“To prevent such losses, we urge all MDA desk officers to ensure accurate data entry at the point of initiation.
“We also wish to draw the attention of enterprises and individual contractors in the FCT to this issue and caution them of the potential consequences,’’ he stated.
Sumaila warned that FCT-IRS would not issue Tax Clearance Certificates on WHT credit wrongly sent to other tax jurisdictions by GIFMIS platform.
“We advise all taxpayers to liaise closely with their respective MDA desk officers to ensure the correct tax jurisdiction is selected during WHT remittance.
“Our aim is to ensure seamless tax administration system that supports compliance, promotes ease of doing business, and upholds principles of transparency and accountability,’’ he stressed.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FCT-IRS took over the administration, collection, and accounting of taxes in the FCT from the FIRS in 2018.
