The federal government on Friday reversed its decision on self-certification and apologised for asking all account holders in the country’s financial institutions to register their details again.
The apology contained in a statement was issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) via the Government of Nigeria twitter handle @NigeriaGov.
According to the statement, “This is to clarify the publication for financial institutions account holders in Nigeria to complete the self-certification form, pursuant to the Income Tax (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations 2019 which is for the fulfilment of Automatic Exchange of Information Requirements.
We apologize for the misleading tweets (now deleted) that went up yesterday, regarding the completion of self-certification forms by Reportable Persons. The message contained in the @firsNigeria Notice does not apply to everybody. FIRS will issue appropriate clarification shortly pic.twitter.com/KBiPh0lCwJ
— Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) September 18, 2020
“The Self Certification form is basically to be administered on Reportable persons holding accounts in Financial institutions that are regarded as “Reportable Financial Institutions” under the CRS.
“Reportable persons are often non-residents. And other persons who have a residence for tax purposes in more than one jurisdiction or Country.
“Financial Institutions are expected to administer the Self Certification form on such account holders when the information at its disposal indicates that the Account holder is a person resident for tax purpose in more than one jurisdiction.
“The information that indicates an account holder is a resident for tax purposes in more than one jurisdiction, is expected to be available to Financial Institutions during the account opening processes for the KYC and AML purpose.”
There have been harsh reactions after an official announcement directed all Nigerians to re-register their account numbers with financial institutions despite possessing Bank Verification Number and the National Identification.
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