FG apologises for misleading tweets on registration for account holders

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

It was announced on Thursday that individuals who hold accounts in different financial institutions would have to collect and submit separate forms to each one of the institutions.

The federal government, in a tweet on Friday, acknowledged that the tweets were misleading.

“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 wrote.

“Notice does not apply to everybody. FIRS will issue appropriate clarification shortly.”

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

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In the statement on Thursday, it had said failure to comply with the directive attracts sanctions which may include monetary penalty or inability to operate the account.

However, 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.

“Reportable persons are often non-residents. And other persons who have a residence for tax purposes in more than one jurisdiction or country,” the FIRS said.

“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.”