Tax remittances: Reps c’ttee places status enquiry on MTN

The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed telecommunication giant, MTN, to tender all its financial documents to enable it determine if the right taxes were being remitted to government.

Chairman of the committee, Rep. James Faleke (APC-Lagos) made the demand at an investigative hearing on remittances to Consolidated Revenue Account on Wednesday Abuja.

Faleke said there was need to harness all government revenue to enable the Federal Government finance the 2020 budget.

He said the committee would not relent until all revenue due to the common purse was remitted.

“We want you to produce your quarterly returns on operation level paid to National Communications Commission (NCC) supported with management account.

“Produce computation schedules and ledger and any other accounting books for post pioneer periods.

“We want details of fixed asset register of the company which must reflect evidence originating records and distinction should be made between those acquired locally and those imported for the purpose of interfacing with Nigerian Customs Services and Federal Inland Revenue Service,” he said.

The chairman said that MTN should provide comprehensive list of imported equipment, schedule of dividend distribution with copies of all dividend warrants from inception to December 2019.

The committee also requested for copies of pioneer audited accounts from inception to December 2019, including annual tax returns and capital allowance computations supported with annual income tax certificate from 2007 to 2019.

MTN is also required to provide soft copies of annual ledger for all ledger accounts which indicated turnover and expenditures.

The committee also demanded for soft copies of withholding taxes and withholding remittances as well as soft copies of all bank statements in naira and dollars.

Faleke said the document would enable the committee detect if MTN was actually paying the right taxes or not.

Meanwhile the committee had placed status enquiry on the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) following the failure of the body to accurately remit revenue to the common purse.

Faleke said that JAMB should provide details of all remittances before 2016 to the committee for further investigations.