FCTA, 6 councils designate FCT-IRS as sole revenue collector

In order to mitigate revenue losses due to inefficient revenue collection systems, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the six area councils of the FCT have jointly designated the FCT Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as the single revenue entity to collect all taxes and non-tax revenues by both levels of government in the territory.

With this, the FCT-IRS is to collect and report in the following areas: business premises, shops and kiosks levies, food and water-related permits, park and pay/street parking, wrong parking charges, market taxes, hotels, restaurants and event centres’ taxes.

 Also, areas where the FCTA only had statutory collection responsibility that have been delegated to the FCT-IRS include environment fee or levy, waste management charges, sewage

connection, environmental impact/ assessment charges, outdoor advertisement, mobile advert and signage, telecommunication mast and communication equipment, and any other revenue to be agreed from time to time by the FCTA.

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 However, ground rent, tenement rate and other land-related charges are to be integrated into property tax.

The template was disclosed yesterday at a press briefing on the resolutions reached at a stakeholders’ retreat on the harmonisation of revenue and ease of doing business in the FCT.

The FCTA Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola, who performed the official unveiling of the template, said it was pursuant to the resolutions of the retreat, tagged: “The Akure Accord”, following which the immediate past FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, inaugurated the FCT Joint Revenue Committee chaired by the Chairman of FCT-IRS, Haruna Abdullahi.

Adesola added that the outcome of “The Akure Accord” was the phasing out of technical partners from direct collection of revenues by area councils.

 He further said, “Accordingly, the FCTA and any of its Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) or other agents designated to identify, assess and account any revenue head for this resolution shall work collaboratively with the FCT-IRS towards the actualisation of this objective, including in the sharing of necessary data, and that the six area councils shall where the respective area council alone had statutory collection responsibilities, review their affairs and could resolve on the extent of involvement of the FCT-IRS for their revenue collection.

“Officials of government as applicable shall continue to perform their statutory responsibilities while harmonised revenues shall be collected on behalf of all by the FCT-IRS. Hence, the area councils shall progressively disarm all the ‘armed brigands’ involved in revenue collection activities as soon as possible.

“Accordingly, each area council and any of their agents designated to identify, assess and account for any revenue head for this resolution shall work collaboratively with the FCT-IRS towards the actualisation of this objective, including in the sharing of necessary data that the FCTAs agree to delegate and hereby delegates duties and obligations for revenue heads where the FCTA only has statutory collection responsibilities to the FCT-IRS who shall serve as the single revenue entity to collect and report.”

Also speaking, the FCT-IRS Chairman, Abdullahi, who spoke through the Director, Tax Operations, Malik Tukur, described the development as a pivotal moment in the history of the FCT as it was in line with its vision for a more prosperous and business-friendly territory.