Govt apologises over tweets on registration for account holders

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The federal government has apologised for its tweets on the self-certification procedure.

A tweet on the federal government’s verified handle had said all account holders must proceed to their financial institutions for what the tweet called recertification.

It had said individuals who hold accounts in different financial institutions would have to collect and submit separate forms to each one of the institutions.

However, on Friday, the federal government in another tweet agreed that the tweets were misleading. It said in a statement, “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.”

It added that the “Notice does not apply to everybody. FIRS will issue appropriate clarification shortly.

A clarification published by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) showed that the directive applies to individuals and entities who have presence in more than one country.

It said “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.”