Should the Financial bill passed by the National Assembly be assented by the President of Nigeria, evidence of tax payment will be a condition for operating a commercial bank account from January.
The Bill was earlier submitted to the lawmakers along with the Budget 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari and is purportedly designed to improve the financial operations of the country and streamline the tax regime.
It follows the stringent transaction fees that have earlier been implemented.
It is expected to be signed with the budget before the end of the month, to actualise the return to the January – December budget cycle, The Nation reports.
According to a section of the Bill, banks will require anybody opening an account to provide his Tax Identification Number (TIN)
Those who already have accounts with banks will also be required to provide their TIN.
There are 30 million Bank Verification Numbers (BVN)-linked accounts. The intention is to make sure that more people are captured into the tax net.
According to the Joint Tax Board, the tax identification number (TIN) is a unique identifier for an individual or a company for tax remittance.
The TIN is prepared by the tax office and issued for proper identification and verification.
Applying for TIN is free. The TIN generation process is real-time and should not exceed 48 hours after a request is submitted.
Source: Comms Week
