- Moves to block revenue leakages by contractors
- To undertake compliance spot checks on MDAs
The Federal Government has ordered vendors of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to display their Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) on their invoices before payments are effected by the MDAs.
The Federal Government’s directive was handed down on Tuesday in Abuja by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun to the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris.
Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Minister, Oluyinka Akintunde told our correspondent that the order is part of efforts by government to block revenue leakages by the MDAs’ vendors, adding that about N100 billion has been discovered as tax revenue shortfall by contractors between 2012 and 2017.
He said in a memo titled “Compliance with Tax Payments by Federal Government Vendors,” the minister disclosed that persistent leakages in revenue remittances by vendors had been uncovered by the Government’s Project Lighthouse, a systemwide revenue intelligence data-warehouse.
The leakages, according to her, were due to lack of TIN particularly on Value Added Tax (VAT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and other related inflows into the government coffers.
Akintunde said: ‘In the memo, the minister said, “In order to address these lapses in the implementation of the 2017 Budget as well as boost the revenue accruable to the Government, all MDAs should be directed to insist that invoices submitted by vendors for payments must clearly state the TIN.
Akintunde further quoted the minister as saying: “This is to confirm tax compliance by relevant government vendors before payments are effected.”
She added that the directive to the government vendors is in compliance with the provisions of both the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Procurement Acts of 2007 respectively.
The Minister stated that spot checks would be undertaken on MDAs to confirm compliance with the directive.
