ON FX TRANSACTIONS, BANKS DEMAND A TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE.

A new rule impacts PTA, BTA, medical expenses, personal home remittances, automobile registration, and other things.

Documents must be viewed before services are provided by government bodies and private entities.

Commercial banks and Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of Government (MDAs) have been ordered by the federal and state governments to implement a current Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) as a condition of conducting any business transaction with people.

According to THISDAY, the drive has already begun in the Federal Capital Territory and other jurisdictions in accordance with Section 85 of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA), and Section 31(5) of the FCT-IRS Act, 2015.

Some banks had already used text messages to this effect to inform their customers of the development.

The FCT-Inland Revenue Service's publication, which THISDAY obtained, states that the rule applies to requests for government loans, motor vehicle registration, requests for permission to exchange foreign currency for local currency, certificates of occupancy, and the awarding of contracts by the government, its agencies, and registered businesses.

The approval of building plans, trade licenses, real estate transfers, agent licenses, pool or gaming licenses, contractor registration, distributorship applications, and confirmation of appointments by the government as chairman.

The stamping of a guarantor's form for a Nigerian passport, applications to register a limited liability company or a business name, the assignment of market stalls, the appointment or election of officials, requests to change the owner of a vehicle by the vendor, plots of land, FCTA loans, and any other transactions that may be determined from time to time are other transactions that are affected.

According to the new instruction, banks, and corporate entities are required to make sure that all supplied TCC undergo a thorough authentication check by the tax authority issuing them.

The development resulted from a necessity for the service to make sure that all inhabitants of the FCT comply with their legality.

The FCT-IRS also announced that it would conduct a regular monitoring and enforcement exercise every month, every quarter, or every year to fulfill its mandate to improve revenue generation and ensure compliance, adding that strict sanctions would be meted out to defaulting bodies in accordance with the law.

In a similar spirit, it emphasized that all FCT residents must file annual returns because it is the only means of issuing of TCC.

The quick submission of annual returns is for a Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) as a prerequisite for the transactions mentioned above are both covered by the monitoring exercise.

However, one of the commercial banks informed customers in a text message seen by THISDAY that “All banks are now required to sight customers' Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) before foreign exchange transactions can be fulfilled. This is in accordance with the provision of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA)”.

As a result, in order to process any FX and Form A requests, a copy of the applicants' TCC is now necessary. This covers PTA/BTA, international school fees and personal home remittances.