FIRS threatens sanctions against non-compliance with self-certification form

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), on Thursday clarified its statement a day earlier directing account holders in financial institutions in the country to submit self-certification forms or risk being barred.

This has been perceived by some analysts as desperation on the part of the revenue generating agency to meet its revenue target set by the Federal Government.

“Failure to comply with the requirement to administer or execute this form attracts sanctions which may include monetary penalty or inability to operate the account,” it tweeted.

Curiously, the notification, which was made via the twitter handle of the Federal Government (@NigeriaGov), rather the regular official channels, did not give a timeframe for the directive.

Account holders in banks, insurance companies, among others, “are required to obtain, complete and submit self-certification Forms to their respective Financial Institutions.”

Specifically, persons holding accounts in different financial institutions are to complete and submit the form to each one of the institutions, to enable the financial institutions “carry out due diligence procedures in line with the Income Tax Regulations 2019

The self-certification form is broken down into three categories: form for the entity, controlling person (defined as individuals having a controlling interest in a legal person, trustee, among others); and for the individual.