The House of Representatives has initiated an investigation into allegations of non-remittance and under-remittance of taxes by government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), as well as certain companies and organizations, resulting in significant revenue losses for the government.
The House will investigate the procurement of capital projects by MDAs, parastatals, and federal government institutions to recover funds withheld from the execution of these projects.
The resolutions followed two separate motions on notice by Esosa Iyawe (LP, Edo) and Kelechi Nwogu (PDP, Rivers).
Aside from the investigation, the House asked the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to, as a matter of urgency, embark on immediate recovery of all taxes owed the federal government by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), oil companies, as well as other corporate organisations and individuals.
Iyawe described taxation as a veritable tool used by governments to regulate economic and commercial activities and ensure the availability of funds for sustainable national development.
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According to him, the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act, of 2004 established the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for the core purpose of assessing, collecting, remitting and accounting for the Federation’s taxes.
The lawmaker however expressed concern that in 2021 alone, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said that the sum of N17, 690,341,565 was owed in tax by some Companies, whose addresses have not been traced to date, while no action was taken to locate or recover the funds.
He said that audit reports from 2015 to 2019 revealed government agencies owing hundreds of billions in FIRS taxes comprising underpayments and recoveries while over 5,000 companies as well as Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government are owing about N5.2 Trillion in withholding taxes.
He alluded to the fact that under-remittance and non-remittance of tax deprive the Federal Government of much-needed funds to drive its policies for national development, and if the situation is not urgently addressed, the effect could be crippling on the country’s already dwindling economy.
He said while small-scale businesses in Nigeria are frustrated by multiple taxations by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, States, and Local Government Authorities, multinational Companies and other corporate organisations are getting the kid-glove treatment.
Presenting his motion, Kelechi Nwogu accused government ministries departments, and agencies of carrying out suspicious practices in the execution of their capital projects as contained in the appropriation act.
He reminded the House that the constitution mandated the president to prepare and lay before each Houses of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year.
He said Section 81(2) also provides that, “The heads of expenditures contained in the estimates (other than expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation by this Constitution) shall be included in a Bill, to be known as Appropriation Bill, providing for the issue from the Consolidated Revenue of the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums for the purposes specified therein.
He said that the majority of government ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), Parastatal and Institutions allegedly award contracts that are below the amount provided for the execution of the Capital component of the Appropriation Act.
He said the National Assembly has not been provided with information on withheld funds from Federal Government Agencies, causing project procurement reductions to negatively impact project completion and contractor abandonment or requests for variation of the initial cost.
He claimed that the National Assembly’s powers, as provided in Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution are being undermined by the actions of the Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Parastatals, and Institutions.