BEVERLY HILLS, January 19, (THEWILL) – , Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Tuesday, disclosed that Nigeria lost N1.27 trillion due to non-remittance of taxes by some companies involved in the refined products exchange agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Fowler, who gave the hint at the opening of the investigative public hearing held at the instance of the Ad-hoc Committee on the management of crude oil swap agreements, chaired by Zakari Mohammed (APC-Kwara), threatened that the FIRS was contemplating enforcing relevant laws to “stop NNPC from operating,” for failing to declare the incomes of its subsidiary, Duke Oil Limited.
Fowler also noted that FIRS had reported the two erring companies involved in the oil swap – Duke Oil and Transfugura – to Federal Ministry of Finance over tax evasion.
According to Fowler, the NNPC subsidiary company involved in oil trading activities, as well as serving as a vehicle for bringing NNPC directly in contact with the International oil market, was initially registered in Panama since 1989 but paid only N26,546,666.75 between August 2013 and August 2014.
Fowler, who puts the outstanding taxes at N1.1 billion, however noted that FIRS was unaware of the oil swap arrangement until the Committee initiated the investigative hearing.
He added that Transfugura, which was engaged in the oil swap transaction over the years, did not register with FIRS and “has never filed any returns with FIRS” in breach of tax laws, particularly section 55(1) of the companies income tax Act, Cap C21, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, which requires any company that carries out business in Nigeria to file returns on its income derived in Nigeria.”
In his presentation, Ogbonaya Orji, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), alleged that NNPC was indebted to the tune of $3 billion in 2012 as it could not meet up its financial obligations to its partners in the swap arrangement.
Orji, who called for discontinuation of the oil swap arrangement, urged NNPC to embark on direct importation of petroleum products because “the noble objective of this oil swap arrangement have been compromised and abused.”
Story by David Oputah
