Economy & Politics
FIRS integrates API to verify taxes paid by Telcos
As part of the MoU which FIRS signed with NCC, it has concluded plans to integrate API technology solution,to verify the accuracy of taxes paid.

Published
10 months agoon

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has concluded plans to integrate an Application Programming Interface (API) technology solution, which will verify the accuracy of taxes paid by telecom operators, rather than relying their account books.
This is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which the FIRS signed with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday.
PRESS STATEMENT
*NCC, FIRS sign MoU for ascertaining VAT elements of telcos’ transactions*
Link: https://t.co/3BgV2dVRc4 pic.twitter.com/svYxa2Bg0V
— ncc.gov.ng (@NgComCommission) June 9, 2020
According to a press release signed by Dr Henry Nkemadu, Director Public Affairs, NCC, the signing ceremony took place on Tuesday in Abuja, with representatives of both agencies present.
The MOU was initiated as part of the FIRS’ efforts to ascertain accuracy and completeness of value-added tax (VAT) elements and other taxes payable in the transactions of telecom operators.
It authorises the tax agency to integrate an application programming interface (API) technology solution with the systems of telecom Operators for independent verification of the amount of VAT that should be paid by mobile network operators (MNO) rather than relying entirely on the Operators’ books of accounts.
READ MORE: Nigerians will now pay N50 stamp duty on electronic receipts – FIRS
According to the FIRS Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Muhammad Nami, the MoU is mainly “to ascertain the completeness of tax transactions of mobile service providers to the Federal Government due to the shift of physical businesses to electronic-based business activities”.
Nami noted that the API was developed in-house, and is transaction-based – structured so that the tax agency has a basis for determining the completeness and accuracy of VAT elements in telecoms transactions.”
Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, noted during the signing ceremony on Tuesday that the NCC had conducted due diligence and followed due process to understand the import of the MOU before approving it.
“Our concern, as Regulator of the telecoms industry, is that we needed to be sure that it is not another way to tax telecoms Operators, who are already dealing with multiple taxation issues.
“We have also ensured that the integration of the solutions with telcos’ transactions systems will not in any way, impact the cost and quality of service delivery by the Operators to telecoms consumers”, Danbatta assured.
He added further that this new arrangement would not degrade the quality of service delivery to customers, or increase the cost of services.
Ruth Okwumbu has a MSc. and BSc. in Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Delta state university respectively. Prior to her role as analyst at Nairametrics, she had a progressive six year writing career.As a Business Analyst with Narametrics, she focuses on profiles of top business executives, founders, startups and the drama surrounding their successes and challenges. You may contact her via [email protected]


Economy & Politics
Insecurity: FG to implement town hall meetings to reach a national consensus
The meetings are set to address the twin issues of insecurity and its concomitant effect on national unity and cohesion.

Published
3 days agoon
April 8, 2021
The Federal Government announced the launch of town hall meetings to address the twin issues of insecurity and its concomitant effect on national unity and cohesion.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, at the Town Hall Meeting in Kaduna on Thursday, themed “Setting Benchmarks for Enhanced Security and National Unity in Nigeria.”
What the Minister is saying
“The correct starting point towards addressing these myriads of problems is the building of an “elite consensus” on the security, unity, indissolubility, and peaceful existence of Nigeria.
“Such elite consensus had worked in the past. Can we make it work now and proffer solutions in order to stave off the threats to our unity as a nation?” he said.
The Minister disclosed that the meetings are necessary to bring all critical stakeholders together to deliberate on the issues and possibly reach a consensus on the way forward.
“We expect this Town Hall meeting to develop concrete, implementable resolutions because a lot of talks and postulations had taken place with little or no requisite outcome.”
In case you missed it
- Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar warned that the rising insecurity in Nigeria is a result of rising youth unemployment. He urged Nigeria to tackle out-of-school children cases, pay a monthly stipend to poorer families, incorporate youths who are above school age into massive public works programmes and others.
- Senator Ali Ndume insisted that the Federal Government needs to increase its total military spending to be able to tackle the rising insecurity in Nigeria which has seen a number of school students in 2021 kidnapped by bandits.
Business
IMF lifts 2021 global GDP growth to 6%
The group also warned that economic recoveries are diverging dangerously across and within countries.

Published
4 days agoon
April 7, 2021
The International Monetary Fund has lifted its global growth outlook to 6% in 2021 (0.5% point upgrade) and 4.4% in 2022 (0.2 percentage point upgrade), after an estimated historic contraction of -3.3% in 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This disclosure was made on the organisation’s website on Tuesday.
The group also warned that economic recoveries are diverging dangerously across and within countries, as economies with slower vaccine rollout, more limited policy support, and more reliance on tourism do less well.
READ: Corruption erodes the constituency for aid programmes and humanitarian relief – IMF
What the IMF is saying
“The upgrades in global growth for 2021 and 2022 are mainly due to upgrades for advanced economies, particularly to a sizeable upgrade for the United States (1.3 percentage points) that is expected to grow at 6.4 percent this year.
This makes the United States the only large economy projected to surpass the level of GDP it was forecast to have in 2022 in the absence of this pandemic.
China is projected to grow this year at 8.4 percent. While China’s economy had already returned to pre-pandemic GDP in 2020, many other countries are not expected to do so until 2023.”
READ: Nigeria needs structural and monetary policy reforms to unlock potential – IMF
On divergent recoveries
The IMF stated that divergent recovery paths are likely to create wider gaps in living standards across countries compared to pre-pandemic expectations.
“The average annual loss in per capita GDP over 2020–24, relative to pre-pandemic forecasts, is projected to be 5.7 percent in low-income countries and 4.7 percent in emerging markets, while in advanced economies the losses are expected to be smaller at 2.3 percent,” they said.
“Faster progress with vaccinations can uplift the forecast, while a more prolonged pandemic with virus variants that evade vaccines can lead to a sharp downgrade. Multispeed recoveries could pose financial risks if interest rates in the United States rise further in unexpected ways.“
For Africa, IMF forecasts economic growth of 3.4% in 2021 and 4% by 2022, Nigeria is expected to grow by 2.5% in 2021 and 2.3% by 2022, while South Africa is projected to hit growths of 3.1% and 2.0% for the respective years in focus.
READ: The 4th industrial revolution and the birth of a new international monetary system
In case you missed it
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified some factors that hamper the economic recovery of low-income countries from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, factors including access to vaccines, limited policy space to respond to the crisis, the lack of means for extra spending, pre-existing vulnerabilities such as high levels of public debt in many low-income countries and sometimes weak, negative, total factor productivity performance in some low-income countries. These factors continue to act as a drag on growth.
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