Emma Okonji
The inter-agency committee set up by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, recently held an interactive session with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in Abuja, where they discussed areas of collaboration in relation to the Finance Act 2020.
Chaired by the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the membership of the committee is made up of the Executive Chairman of FIRS and heads of the six agencies in the ministry, which include NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Galaxy Backbone, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).
The Committee was set up to discuss critical areas of synergy for the implementation of key provisions in the amended Finance Act 2020 as they affect the operations of the agencies in the ministry.
On December 31, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Bill 2020 into law. The new law, now the Finance Act 2020, which introduced over 80 amendments to 14 different laws, took effect from January 1, 2021.
According to a statement issued shortly after the committee’s meeting by NCC and signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, “Some of the amendments have implications for agencies under the ministry, especially regarding the provision of information for tax purposes and deployment of technology for tax operations in the country, among others.”
Speaking at the interactive session, Danbatta stated that, “the objective of the interactive session is to deliberate on areas of collaboration between agencies in the ministry and FIRS for the common good of the economy.”
Also speaking, FIRS Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami, said: “We have come here to emphasize the need for cooperation and collaboration among the various agencies in terms of revenue generation in order to move the nation forward.”
