NCC, FIRS set up revenue quality assurance committee for telecoms
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) jointly set up a Revenue Quality Assurance Committee for the telecommunications sector recently, as well as plans hold the inaugural meeting this week.
This arrangement was reached between Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta and FIRS Chairman, Mr. Babatunde Fowler after the latter recent visit of Fowler to the NCC Headquarters.
The Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, in a statement stated that the joint committee with four members each from the two organisations is to examine and suggest ways through which the level of transparency can be attained through technology in tax management for FIRS and the returns from Annual Operating Levy (AOL) for the NCC.
Ojobo said that the committee should see how staff matters including payments are addressed, just as to audit the states and proffer what benefits are accruable to them in terms of taxes collected.
“It is expected to work out a recommendation to facilitate the Type Approval of telecommunications equipment that can be used for a transparent assessment of the operators’ revenues,” he added.
He recounted that Prof. Danbatta informed the FIRS Chairman during the visit that the Commission has serious concerns over the shutting down of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in the States indiscriminately without recourse to the Commission.
In his words: “This is worrisome as it undermines the capacity to provide telecom services, thereby denying consumers’ quality of services.”
The EVC highlighted the Resolution of the National Economic Council on Multiple Taxation, Levies and Charges on ICT Infrastructure in Nigeria dated March 21, 2013, stressing that the document is very clear on the issues of multiple taxations, levies, Right of Ways (RoWs) among others.
The NCC boss appealed to the FIRS Chairman “to help us propagate the provisions of the policy to the Joint Tax Board (JTB)”.
Earlier in his remark, the FIRS boss expressed his worries over the taxes being collected from MNOs in the States, adding that the MNOs do not remit the Value Added Tax (VAT) already charged as at when due.
“While some decide when they will remit it but the law stipulates that such taxes must be remitted to the FIRS between 20/21 of each month. Some too have not fulfilled the annual returns”, Flower said.
The FIRS has in an earlier working document sent to the Commission requested the permission of NCC to connect its equipment to the MNOs networks for a direct interface, to which Prof. Danbatta remarked that such equipment must go through the Type Approval process.
Danbatta lauded the collaboration with the FIRS as a decision in the right direction.
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