Nigerians have vented their anger at the newly introduced Self Certification forms which the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has mandated all citizens to fill out.
The Nigerian government in a series of tweets on Thursday said it was compulsory for citizens that have accounts with financial institutions to fill the form.
“This is to notify the general public that all account holders in financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, etc) are required to obtain, complete and submit Self – Certification Forms to their respective financial institutions,” a tweet on the Nigerian Government account read.
Adding that, “Persons holding accounts in different financial institutions is required to complete & submit the form to each one of the institutions. The forms are required by the relevant financial institutions to carry out due diligence procedures in line with the Income Tax Regulations 2019.
“The self-certification form is in three categories: Form for Entity; for Controlling Person (Individuals having controlling interest in a legal person, trustee, etc) and form for individual.
The federal government said there were penalties for account holders who fail to fill the form. “Failure to comply with the requirement to administer or execute this form attracts sanctions which may include monetary penalty or inability to operate the account. For more enquiries visit FIRS Nigeria website for more details.
But Nigerians have kicked against the policy which they termed as archaic, with many arguing that the biodata of Nigerians are already available through their Bank Verification Number registration.
Former presidential spokesperson, Olusegun Adeniyi argued that the government had enough biometrics of citizens. “BVN. Driver’s license. National ID card. INEC registration. International passport. Biometrics were taken in all these places. So, what is the meaning of this?” he quizzed.
Ayo Oyalowo also questioned the rationale behind the Self Certification form. “BVN. National Driver’s license. National ID card. INEC registration. International Passport. Biometrics were taken in all these places. Why do you people like to see us suffer in queues for no reason? Can’t you take whatever data you need already? This is just so wrong,” he wrote on Twitter.
Social media influencer, Japheth Omojuwa mocked the government’s action. “BVN = biometric. National ID = biometric. SIM registration = biometric. Drivers License = Biometric. But I assure you, this new “self-certification” is the baba of them all, once it is done, everything that couldn’t be done with all these other ones will be done,” he tweeted.
Dipo Awojide also posited that the self-certification form was needless. “They will soon ask us to go and bring the left finger of our dead grand mothers. Because after BVN, Drivers Licence, International Passport, Birth Certificate, SIM registration, National ID card, I don’t know what else they want.
FIRS has since explained that the self certification form is not for Nigerians but non-residents that hold certain accounts. “This is to clarify the publication for financial institutions account holders in Nigeria to complete the self certification form, pursuant to the Income Tax (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations 2019 which is for the fulfilment of Automatic Exchange of Information Requirements.
“The Self Certification form is basically to be administered on Reportable persons holding accounts in Financial institutions that are regarded as “Reportable Financial Institutions” under the CRS. Reportable persons are often non-residents and other persons who have residence for tax purposes in more than one jurisdiction or Country.
FIRS explained that, “Financial Institutions are expected to administer the Self Certification form on such account holders when 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 account opening processes for the KYC and AML purpose.
