Connect with us

Business

FIRS and Lagos state government sign MoU to establish joint tax audit system

Published

on

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Lagos to establish a joint tax audit system.

Speaking on Monday during the signing of the MoU, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos governor, said the initiative would address duplication of efforts and facilitate exchange of data that are relevant to enforcement of extant tax laws.

Sanwo-Olu described the collaboration as “epoch-making”, saying the conversation for the harmonisation of the two agencies’ mandates started about a year ago.

In 2021, the federal government and Lagos clashed over the collection of value-added tax (VAT) in the state.

Sanwo-Olu signed into law a bill seeking to empower the state to collect value-added tax (VAT) — following the Rivers state’s VAT law.

The bill sought to empower the Lagos government to collect VAT in the state instead of (FIRS), an agent of the federal government.

Further commenting on the latest development, Sanwo-Olu said there is a need to forge a common front in widening the tax net to raise the country’s tax to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio.

He said Nigeria had maintained an unimpressive tax to GDP ratio of between 6 to 8 percent, despite the yearly record-breaking turnovers by both FIRS and the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS).

This, the politician said, has mounted pressure on the nation’s resources and created an imbalance in government’s expenditure.

“Studies have shown that there would be better service delivery to the citizens and improvement in efficiency of tax collection when the two agencies work together,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“The cost of tax collection would be reduced, we would see better customer satisfaction and more resources would be generated for the government to deliver more dividends of democracy.

“For us as a state, we are humbled by this collaborative effort and we believe our citizens will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this initiative.

“The MoU is in the best interest of the public, as it affirms the reason why we need to come together and strengthen the cordial working relationship between the two agencies.”

Also speaking, Muhammad Nami, FIRS chairman, said the MoU would help both agencies to build capacity in respective areas of specialisation.

Business

Johannesburg Stock Exchange suspends Oando over failure to submit financial results

Published

on

By

Oando Plc says trading on its shares has been suspended by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) due to its inability to meet the extended deadline to publish its 2022 audited year-end results.

The company is listed both on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and JSE.

Oando said it also failed to meet the deadline to publish its interim results for 2023.

According to a statement filed on the Nigerian bourse, Oando said the suspension was contained in a letter dated March 27.

The oil company, however, said its audited financial results will be approved by April 15.

“The Company had earlier unsuccessfully appealed to the JSE seeking a further extension of time within which to file the relevant accounts and requesting that it hold off its communicated intention to suspend Oando’s listing on the Exchange,” Oando said.

“Consequently, investors cannot trade the shares of the company during this period on the JSE Limited.

“The 2022 Accounts are scheduled to be approved by the Board of Oando PLC on or before the 15th of April 2024 and will thereafter be sent to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria for regulatory approval prior to its release to the market.

“The interim results for 2023 will also be released to the market soon after the 2022 Accounts are published.”

The company said further updates will be communicated to the market upon changes to the current situation.

This is not the first time Oando has been suspended from JSE.

On October 19, 2017, JSE suspended Oando after the review of subsequent correspondence received from the NGX and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).

Prior to this, the NGX, on October 18, 2017, suspended Oando’s trading following the directive of the SEC.

Continue Reading

Business

CBN raises capital base of commercial banks to N500bn

Published

on

By

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an upward review of the minimum capital requirements for commercial, merchant and non-interest banks.

In a statement on Thursday, CBN said the increase was necessary due to prevailing macroeconomic challenges and headwinds occasioned by external and domestic shocks.

The statement was signed by Haruna Mustafa, director, financial policy and regulation department.

According to the apex bank, the upward review will enhance their resilience, solvency and capacity to continue to support the growth of the Nigerian economy.

CBN increased the capital base for commercial banks with international licences to N500 billion, while national and regional financial institutions’ capital bases were pegged at N200 billion and N50 billion, respectively.

Also, CBN raised the merchant bank minimum capital requirement to N50 billion for national licence holders.

The financial regulator said the capital base for national and regional non-interest banks is N20 billion and n10 billion, respectively.

To meet the minimum capital requirements, CBN advised banks to consider the injection of “fresh equity capital through private placements, rights issue and/or offer for subscription”.

CBN also suggested merger and acquisition (M&A), as well as upgrade or downgrade of licences.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING BANKS

  • The minimum capital specified above shall comprise paid-up capital and share premium only. For the avoidance of doubt, the new capital requirement shall not be based on shareholders’ funds.
  • Additional tier 1 (AT1) capital shall not be eligible for the purpose of meeting the new requirement.
  • All banks are required to meet the minimum capital requirement within a period of 24 months commencing from April 1, 2024 and terminating on March 31, 2026.
  • Notwithstanding the capital increase, banks are to ensure strict compliance with the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirement applicable to their license authorization.
  • In line with extant regulations, banks that breach the CAR requirement shall required to inject fresh capital to regularise their position.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSED BANKS

  • The minimum capital requirement shall be paid-up capital.
  • The new minimum capital requirement shall be applicable to all new applications for banking licences submitted after April 1, 2024.
  • The CBN shall continue to process all pending applications for banking licences for which capital deposit had been made and/or approval-in-principle (AIP) had been granted. However, the promoters of such proposed banks shall make up the difference between the capital deposited with the CBN and the new capital requirement not later than March 31

CBN said all banks are required to submit an implementation plan, clearly indicating the chosen option{s) for meeting the new capital requirement and various activities involved with their timelines.

“The plan shall be submitted to the Director, Banking Supervision Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, not later than April 30, 2024,” the apex bank said.

CBN said it will monitor and ensure compliance with the new requirements within the specified timeline above.

Continue Reading

Business

EKEDC board debunks recall of Tinuade Sanda as CEO, says ‘It wasn’t authorised’

Published

on

By

The board of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) says a communication recalling Tinuade Sanda from her role as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) does not represent its position.

In a statement on March 28, Babor Egeregor, a director and chairman, legal and regulatory committee, said the directive terminating the appointment of Sanda has been nullified.

However, in a statement on Thursday, the board said it did not authorise Egeregor to issue any statement on its behalf.

“The attention of the Board of Directors has been drawn to the recent statements online and in print media from Mr. Babor Egeregor, supposedly acting on behalf of the board,” the board said.

“This is to state that the Board of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc (“EKEDP”) did not and has not authorized Mr. Babor Egeregor to issue any statement or press release on its behalf. We therefore urge the general public to regard all communications from him as his personal views and does not represent the position of the Board of “EKEDP.”

The board said only communications signed by the chairman are authentic and represent the position of the company on any issue.

Continue Reading

Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

Most Read...