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Tag: Revenue

  • FIRS generates N4.17trn in revenue

    FIRS generates N4.17trn in revenue

    Mr Muhammad Nami, Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Friday said that a total of N4,178 trillion was generated in taxes from January to October. 2020.

    Nami, represented by Mr Ezra Zubairu,
    Coordinating Director, Enforcement Support Group, FIRS, made this known at the opening ceremony of the Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the fair had as its theme: “Connecting Businesses, Creating Value”.

    Nami stated that the target for the period was N4.23 trillion which indicates that the amount generated represents 99 per cent of the target for the period.

    According to him, revenue generation improved tremendously in spite of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Nami said the focus of the 34th edition of the 2020 Trade Fair was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of positioning Nigeria on the global map as a great trade and exporting nation.

    “The sum of N4,178 trillion has been generated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service from January to the end of October 2020.

    “The target for the period was N4.23 trillion. The amount generated represents 99 per cent of the target for the period.

    “The target for the whole year is N5.76 trillion,” he said.

    The FIRS Boss said the service putting the plights of taxpayers into consideration, introduced some palliatives to cushion the effect of the pandemic.

    Nami listed the palliatives to include: additional window of penalty and interest waiver for the business that pay up in full, the principal portion of their outstanding liabilities between 4th November, 2020 and 31st December, 2020.

    This, he said was, provided the outstanding arrears resulted from (a) self-assessment (b) government assessment arising from desk audit, field audit or investigation.

    Nami, however, stated that the window of opportunity for waivers of penalties and interest on outstanding taxes arising from desk examinations, audit exercises, investigations or all other forms of tax assessment will close on Dec. 31, 2020.

    “Consequently, all concerned taxpayers are to note that after the expiration date of Dec. 31, 2020, the Service shall recover all outstanding debt with penalties and interest.

    “In accordance with the provisions of the extant tax laws such as “the power of substitution” conferred on it by Section 31 of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007,” he said.

  • NBS: 36 States, FCT get N1.7trn in total revenue

    NBS: 36 States, FCT get N1.7trn in total revenue

    The total revenue available for the 36 States of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to spend for the first half of 2020, being January to June has been placed at N1.7 trillion.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) made this known with its report of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at State level for Half Year 2020 that was published on Tuesday

    The publication shows that the 36 states and FCT IGR figure hits N612.87bn in H1 2020 compared to N693.91bn recorded in 2019, indicating a negative growth of -11.7% year on year.

    Similarly, the Q2 2020 States and FCT IGR figure hits N259.73bn compared to N353.14bn recorded in Q1 2020, indicating a negative growth of -26.5% quarter on quarter.

    Lagos State has the highest Internally Generated Revenue with N204.51bn recorded in H1 2020, closely followed by Rivers State with N64.59bn while Jigawa State recorded the least Internally Generated Revenue.

    Meanwhile, according to the IGR report, the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT received the total sum of N1,121,250,121,801.19 from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), placing the total revenue available to States in the first half of 2020 at N1.7 trillion.

  • Buhari doing well despite dwindling revenues – Lai Mohammed

    Buhari doing well despite dwindling revenues – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is doing immensely well, in spite of the dwindling revenues accruing to government.

    The minister stated this while responding to questions on the state of the nation on an audience participatory programme of the language station of Radio Nigeria, Lagos operations, Bond FM 92.9 in lkeja.

    Mohammed said the Buhari government was delivering on its election promises in spite of economic crunch due to dwindling price of crude oil and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.

    He said that in terms of massive infrastructure renewal and delivery, Buhari’s government surpassed previous administrations which experienced oil boom but failed to effectively utilise it to better the lives of Nigerians.

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    Buttressing his position on the development in key sectors, Mohammed explained that since 1987, there was no definite investment in the railway lnfrastructure, until Buhari came in 2015.

    He said many railway routes have been established, standard gauges inaugurated and many modern coaches acquired by the government, thereby transforming land transportation.

    On the transformation of the Agricultural sector, the miinister said before the Buhari administration came on board, Nigeria depended solely on importation of rice from Thailand and India.

    Read Also: 60th anniversary: Buhari’s administration building a new Nigeria – FG

    He said with the visionary leadership of Buhari, Nigeria has 34 integrated rice mills while rice production by local farmers has significantly increased, leading to many locally made brands of rice.

    Mohammed said the lingering crises in the power sector, was foisted on the country by previous administration which sold the generation and distribution arms of the sector to private companies without capacity to run the facilities effectively.

    To rescue the situation, the minister said the Buhari government has spent N1.7 trillion in subsidising electricity since it came into power.

    The minister, however, said that government can no longer sustain the subsidy because of dwindling resources and the fact that it has not translated to steady power supply.

    He explained that such funds are better used for other visible capital projects that would add value to the lives of Nigerians.

    He urged Nigerians to be patient with the government with the ongoing restructuring of the power sector.

    The minister assured that Nigeria will witness steady power supply with the implementation of the MOU signed with a foreign technology company, SIEMENS, to deliver 7,000mw by 2021 and 11,000mw by 2023.

    He equally disclosed that the federal government spent N10.4 trillion on fuel subsidy from 2006 to 2009 reiterating that the regime can no longer be sustained under the prevailing economic conditions.

    “Revenues and foreign exchange earnings by the government have fallen by almost 60 per cent due to the downturn in the fortunes of the oil sector.

    “There is no provision for subsidy in the revised 2020 budget. So where will the subsidy money come from?

    “Remember that despite the massive fall in revenues, the government still has to sustain expenditures, especially on salaries and capital projects,” he said.

    The minister noted that the citizens are not the beneficiaries of the subsidy on petroleum products that has lasted for years.

    He explained that the administration removed fuel subsidy because only few persons were benefitting from the money, which was having no positive impact on the nation’s economy.

    Mohammed noted that with the removal of subsidy the price of petroleum products would be determined by market forces of demand and supply.

    He assured that the deregulation of the petroleum sector would save the country trillions of Naira, which can be used to provide modern infrastructures for the benefit of the people.

    The minister added that the deregulation would spur investments in the petroleum industry, especially in the building of local refineries, and result in lower fuel prices.

    He said that the first modular refinery that has the capacity to refine 5,000 barrels of petroleum products daily would be inaugurated in October in Imo state.

    The minister said when the Dangote’s 650,000 barrels capacity per day refinery and other modular refineries come on stream, they would help in reducing the price of finished petroleum products in the country.

    He assured that the government under the watch of President Buhari will not derail in its electioneering promises of taking Nigeria to the next level.

  • Dwindling revenue: FG sends 50 specially trained treasury officers to 10 most lucrative agencies

    Dwindling revenue: FG sends 50 specially trained treasury officers to 10 most lucrative agencies

    The Federal Government on Tuesday posted directors of revenue or professional treasury officers to monitor revenue management in 10 of its most lucrative enterprises.

    This is in a sharp move to curtail the trend of dwindling and mismanagement of revenue generated by the agencies.

    The 10 government-owned enterprises (GOE) affected in the first phase are Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    Others are Nigeria Customs Service (NSS), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC).

    Mrs Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance and budget said the initiative was in compliance with Presidential approval conveyed via SGF’s circular reference SGF.50/S.3/C.9/24 dated 16th October 2018 on the approved Revenue Performance Management Framework for Government Owned Enterprises (FGOEs).

    She spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the opening of a three-day orientation programme for 50 directors of revenue who are to be posted to various GOEs.

    According to her, “government is increasingly concerned with the dwindling profile of Revenue and this trend has to be quickly arrested particularly with Key revenue generating agencies of the Government.”

    “It is my considered opinion that the presence of Directors of Revenue at the FGOEs will ensure strict adherence to extant rules and regulations in the areas of compliance to approved budget and due process mechanism in procurement and payments.”

    “The Directors of Revenue, in the course of the discharge of their functions, shall be involved in the revenue operations of the FGOEs, have a better understanding of business processes and operations of the FGOEs and cause improved transparency and accountability in revenue reporting by the FGOEs.”

    “In addition, they are expected to seek opportunities and avenues for revenue improvements which are the ultimate aim of the Government.

    “I am pleased to inform you that the discharge of these duties will be aided with the deployment of Information Technology.”

    “The Integrated Revenue Monitoring System is being put in place to help the monitoring of the revenues of the FGOEs online real-time and to ensure its improved transparency and accountability.”

    “This programme is designed as an orientation to the officers that will be posted as Directors of Revenues and is hoped that this will help them to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently and most importantly in utmost good faith.”

    Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris said the vision of this initiative is to achieve transparency and accountability of Government revenue with special focus on FGOEs, improved revenue performance and ultimately to provide a sustainable source of funding for Government budget execution.

    He, therefore, urged the participants to be active during the orientation programme.

    In a remark read on his behalf, Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustafa said the decision taken to boost the revenue base of Government was to post Professional Treasury Officers to select FGOEs will among others enable the Treasury to have a better understanding of the business processes and operations of the FGOEs.

    “This will help in the review of the current systems, policies and procedures in revenue administration and management.

    “The policy is a reform initiative aimed at generating more revenue and associated remittance into the government treasury and to also improve the operational performance of all GOEs.

    “Hitherto, Government has noted that a number of GOEs remit less operating surpluses to the Consolidated Revenue Fund than is required by law and/or Financial Regulations.”

  • DPR remits $1.03 billion in royalties, legacy debts to FG

    DPR remits $1.03 billion in royalties, legacy debts to FG

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said it remitted 1.03 billion dollars to the Federation Account from oil and gas royalties and legacy debts.

    DPR’s Director, Mr Sarki Auwalu made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday in Lagos.

    Auwalu said this was achieved through robust regulatory reforms that had been put in place to ensure timely and efficient revenue collection drive.

    He said the department collects oil and gas royalties, which represent the proportional value of oil and gas production and flare gas penalties.

    He further stated that the DPR, as a revenue collection agency of government, will continue to use its regulatory instruments to enhance revenue collection for the Federal Government.

    “It also collects concession rentals paid for grant of oil and gas acreages and miscellaneous oil revenues comprising statutory application fees, licences, and permit fees.

    “Such revenues are generated from licenses, permits and approvals to enable businesses and create opportunities for investors in the oil and gas sector,” the director said.

    Auwalu explained that it was not part of DPR’s functions to advise government against borrowing from global financial institutions.

    According to him, there are agencies that are statutorily empowered to do that.

  • Customs generates N976.6bn revenue in 8 months

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has so far generated N976.6 billion revenue from January to August for the country.

    The document obtained from the service through its Public Relations Office by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday indicated that the sum was realised from import duties and excise duties, among others.

    The statistics showed that the NCS generated its highest revenue from import duty followed by the one gotten from the service’s Value Added Tax (VAT).

    From the document, NCS realised N471.7 billion from import duty trailed by the N216.4 billion generated from the Customs’ VAT.

    According to the statistics, the sum of N120.4 billion is generated from Non-Federation Accounts levies, while N84.3 billion is gotten from Federation Accounts levies.

    The document also showed that the sum of N76.9 billion was generated from excise duty and N6.6 billion was received from fees.

    Recall that the sum of N1.3 trillion was generated as revenue in 2019 by the NCS.

    Speaking on this development, Mr Promise Amahah, an economic expert commended Customs for generating such amount in spite the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted negatively on the economy.

    Amahah said with what the NCS had generated in eight months, it would catch up or even surpass the N1.3 trillion revenue for 2019.

    The Comptroller-General of NCS, retired Col. Hameed Ali had assured the country of generating substantial revenue in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Ali was speaking while commending his officers and men for their resilience and commitment to duty during the challenging period of coronavirus.

    “Nigeria and indeed the world have been challenged with COVID-19, but we are still doing our best, there is no cause for alarm in terms of revenue generation,” Ali said.

  • Coronavirus hits hard as FG, States, LGs share N547.3bn, lowest in 2020

    Coronavirus hits hard as FG, States, LGs share N547.3bn, lowest in 2020

    The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) on Wednesday shared N547.309 billion to the three tiers of government for the month of May.

    It was the lowest amount shared this year, reflecting the downside effect of COVID-19 pandemic.

    In January the three tiers shared N716billion.

    It was N647billion in February, N780 billion in March and N606billion in April.

    Out of the N547.3 billion available for May, the Federal Government received N219.799 billon, States N152.436 billion and Local Government Councils N114.095 billion.

    Oil producing states received N37.021 billion 13 per cent derivation fund

    The revenue came from Value Added Tax (VAT), Exchange Gain and Excess Bank Charges recovered.

    Mr Hassan Dodo, the Director of Information in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.

    This followed a virtual meeting chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse.

    The cost of collection of Federal Inland Revenue Fund (FIRS) Refund Allocation to North East Development Commission (NEDC) was N23.958 billion.

    “The Gross Revenue available from the VAT for May was N103.873 billion against N94.498 billion distributed in the preceding month of April resulting in an increase of N9.377 billion.

    “The distribution is as follows: Federal Government got N14.490 billion, the States received N48.301 billion, Local Government Councils had N33.811 billon, while derivation got N0.000 and Cost of Collection and FIRS Refund/Allocation to NEDC got N7.271 billion.

    “The distributed Statutory Revenue of N413.953 billion received for the month was higher than the N370.411 billion received for the previous month by N43.542 billion, which the Federal Government got N191.580 billon, States received N97.172 billion and Local Governments got N74.915 billion.

    “Derivation got N33.599 billion and Cost of Collection was N16.687 billion.”

    The communique also revealed that Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Import Duty and VAT recorded increases, while Companies Income Tax (CIT), Oil Royalty and Excise Duty recorded decreases.

  • FAAC shares ₦780.926bn for March

    FAAC shares ₦780.926bn for March

    The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared a total of ₦780.926 billion as March 2020 Federation Account Revenue.

    The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) disclosed in Abuja that the Federal, States, Local Governments and relevant Agencies in the country shared ₦780.926 billion as at the end of the FAAC meeting.

    According to the statement: “The N780.926 billion comprised Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Exchange Gain.”

    It was also disclosed the balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) grew a little to $72.221 million.

    The gross statutory revenue for the month of March 2020 was put at ₦597.676 billion.

    This was higher than the ₦466.058 billion received in February 2020 by ₦131.618 billion.

    Value Added Tax (VAT) yielded gross revenue of ₦120.268 billion in March 2020 as against ₦99.552 billion in February 2020, resulting in an increase of ₦20.716 billion.

    A total of ₦62.928 billion was available from Exchange Gain in the month under review.

    The OAGF noted: “The Statement of Accounts indicated that from the total revenue of ₦780.926 billion, the Federal Government received ₦264.330 billion.”

    Continuing, the Office said: “The State Governments received ₦181.487 billion, and the Local Government Councils received ₦135.950 billion.

    “The Oil Producing States received ₦38.751 billion as 13% derivation revenue while the cost of revenue collection by Revenue Agencies and allocation to North-East Development Commission (NEDC) was ₦160.408 billion.”

    According to the Statement of Accounts, the Federal Government received ₦217.773 billion from the gross statutory revenue of ₦597.676 billion.

    The State Governments received ₦110.457 billion and the Local Government Councils received ₦85.158 billion.

    The sum of ₦32.299 billion was given to the relevant States as 13% derivation revenue and ₦151.989 billion was cost of revenue collection by Revenue Agencies and allocation to NEDC.

    The Federal Government received ₦16.777 billion from the Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of ₦120.268 billion available in the month of March 2020. The State Governments received ₦55.925 billion, the Local Government Councils received ₦39.147 billion, while the cost of collection by Revenue Agencies and allocation to NEDC was ₦8.419 billion.

    The Statement confirmed that the Federal Government received ₦29.780 billion, the State Governments received ₦15.105 billion, the Local Government Councils received ₦11.645 billion and the Oil Producing States received ₦6.452 billion from the total revenue of ₦62.982 billion available from Exchange Gain.

    It was also revealed that in the month of March 2020, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Import and Excise Duties, Oil and Gas Royalties and Value Added Tax (VAT) all recorded substantial increases which resulted in the large volume of money shared.

    The monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting for the month of April 2020, where the sharing of the March 2020 revenues was discussed, was held through virtual conferencing.

    Members of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) could not meet in Abuja due to the lockdown in the country occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Nigeria music revenue to hit $86m in 2021 – Lai Mohammed

    Nigeria music revenue to hit $86m in 2021 – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed says Nigeria music revenue is projected to hit 86 million dollar (about N3.096 billion) in 2021, making it the biggest in Africa.

    The minister gave the projection on Thursday in Madrid, Spain at the 11th edition of the Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (Investour) organised by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and CASA Africa.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the forum is on the sideline of the ongoing 2020 International Tourism Trade Fair (Fitur), one of the biggest tourism fairs worldwide that holds annually in Madrid.

    Mohammed who was among the panelists at the forum said the nation’s music revenue grew from about 36 million dollar in 2014 (about N1.596 billion) to 53 million dollar (about N1.908 billion) in 2018.

    He said a chunk of the figure came from digital music consumption, an area of the market which significantly boosted the industry in Nigeria and paved the way for local Artists.

    He said that Nigeria has a very vibrant and popular music industry which not only reflects her cultural richness but has over the years translated into international recognition and acceptance.

    The minister also disclosed that fashion and design earnings were put at slightly over N4 trillion of Nigeria’s re-based GDP in 2018.

    He noted that tourism is a multifaceted sector consisting of both informal and formal enterprises, with numerous subcategories which include the arts and crafts.

    “The activities of the arts and craft industry represent a special category of tourism (SMMEs).

    “Although the art and craft sector largely consists of an unskilled workforce and individuals from remote and poor rural areas, it contributes to addressing some of the challenges that local communities face.

    “It is also viewed as a cultural activity which represents the essence of the people’s way of life and serves as an integral part of the travel and tourism industry,” he said.

    The minister noted that with the impressive figures, the Creative Industry has been viewed as a sector that could help the government reach its goal of diversifying the nation’s economy away from oil.

  • It’s time to change revenue sharing formula – Fayemi tackles FG

    Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), says it’s time for revenue sharing formula to change.

    The governor made the call on Monday while fielding questions from journalists at the statehouse in Abuja.

    In the current revenue allocation formula, the federal government gets 52.68%, states get 26.72% and local governments, 20.60%.

    In August, the federal government had set up a committee to review the revenue sharing formula “due to current economic realities”.

    Standing on this, Fayemi said the review had been long overdue, as the two lower tiers of government were battling additional responsibilities.

    “A review of the revenue sharing formula is still the position of the Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum. We feel that it is time for the revenue sharing formula to change and we have made a representation to the President and commander-in-chief,” he said.

    “This is not just under the Buhari administration; this has been an ongoing agitation that started way back since the time of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. It continued during former President Umar Yar’Adua and former President Goodluck Jonathan. So, it is not just something that has been brought out under President Buhari.

    “The process is that Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) will do its own due diligence, consult widely with critical stakeholders; and we have also made available our own representation to RMAFC.

    “Every state has a representative at RMAFC as you know and only last week, RMAFC held a retreat on this and other matters and I believe they will communicate the position.

    “Now that we have a full-fledged RMAFC in place with a Chairman and other members appointed, it is our expectation that this will be taken up by RMAFC with Mr President in a manner that we have taken it up.”