LIRS engages 1,200 Tax Audit Professionals as Tax audit monitoring agents

   

      The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service ((LIRS) has engaged 1,200 members of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) as Tax Audit Monitoring Agents (TAMAs).

     The TAMAs are authorised to act as agents of LIRS for tax audit and assurance purposes. The LIRS carried out a review of the appointment and operational procedure of the TAMAs in order to enhance efficiency in its audit exercise.

Their duty would be to collect requisite information during tax audit field exercises, collate, prepare and submit tax audit reports based on the facts gathered for use by the LIRS.

Access Bank Shareholders Approve payment of Dividend

    The shareholders of Access bank plc on Wednesday at the bank’s annual general meeting (AGM) approved the payment of a final dividend of 30 kobo per share in  addition to the interim dividend of 25 kobo,  which was paid in September 2015.The bank’s profit rose from N52 billion in 2014 to N75 billion in 2015.

   
    Addressing shareholders at the meeting, Chairman of the bank, Mrs.  Mosun Belo-Olusoga, said that the group posted another year of strong earnings in 2015, as revenues grew by 38 per cent to N337 billion in 2015,  from N245 billion in 2014. Profit also rose to N75 billion in 2015 from N52 billion in 2014.

The Group MD/ CEO, Herbert Wigwe,  explained that management has made significant strides in delivering on the bank’s growth objectives..

“As we remain cautious in growing our existing business across geographies, we will place greater emphasis on expanding our retail business, improving cost discipline, proactively managing risk and strictly adhering to policies guiding our business,” he said.
     

Oil price hits $47/barrel

 

    Global benchmark, Brent crude, on Wednesday traded around $47 per barrel, its highest level this year, buoyed up by news of falling output and a weakening United States dollar.

Brent, against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, later fell to $46.47 per barrel, after earlier hitting a year-to-date high of $47.05.

The international benchmark has risen by nearly 20 per cent in April, its largest one month gain for the past 12 months.

President Muhammadu Buhari had proposed $38 per barrel as benchmark oil price for this year’s budget, which was recently approved by the National Assembly.

There were fears two weeks ago that a sustained price rally, after almost two years of decline, would be damaged by the failure of the major oil producers to agree to limit oil production at Doha, Qatar, on April 17.

On Monday, the World Bank said amid improving market sentiment and a weakening dollar, it had raised its 2016 forecast for crude oil prices to $41 per barrel from $37 per barrel in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook, as an oversupply in markets was expected to recede.

It noted that the crude oil market rebounded from a low of $25 per barrel in mid-January to $40 per barrel in April following production disruptions in Iraq and Nigeria, and a decline in non-Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ production, mainly US shale.


Excepts from ThePunch

First Bank to reduce workforce by 1,000

     



        FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria Limited, is planning to cut about 1000 jobs and focus less on providing loans to the oil industry in a bid to reverse  the 2015 financial year’s 82 per cent slump in profit.

The lender expects to boost its return on equity, a key measure of profitability, to between 11 per cent and 14 per cent in 2016 from last year’s “really bad” figure of three per cent, according to the Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FBN’s main subsidiary, Mr. Adesola Adeduntan.

He said the company was also targeting a cost-to-income ratio of 55 per cent in two years time from 59 per cent, Bloomberg reported.

“ROE will be much better than last year,” Adeduntan said in a telephone interview from Lagos on Wednesday.

“At a minimum, we should triple it. We do not shy away from taking difficult decisions. We used to have above 8,000 people. We’ll push it down, gradually to 7,000,” he added.

Its net profit fell to N15bn ($76m) from N84bn in 2014, as impairments soared and the economy slowed amid a crash in the price of crude, the biggest source of Federal Government revenue and export earnings.

Growth decelerated to 2.8 per cent in 2015, the lowest level since 1999, and may worsen to 2.3 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

He said the bank would do that by reducing the proportion of its lending to the oil and gas sector, currently at about 39 per cent of total loans, and focusing more on blue-chip companies in other industries.Adeduntan ruled out any equity raising this year, saying the bank’s capital adequacy ratio of 17.2 per cent was enough of a buffer and above the Central Bank of Nigeria’s minimum requirement of 15 per cent.

It would still be adequate if the floor is raised to 16 per cent in July for Systemically Important Institutions, including First Bank.

“We continuously evaluate it and the position now is that there’s no need for external capital,” Adeduntan, 46, who became the CEO in January after joining First Bank as chief financial officer in mid-2014, said.

“We generate enough internal capital,” he said. FBN’s shares rose by 5.3 per cent to N3.57 on Wednesday. They are, however, still down 30 per cent this year, more than the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index’s drop of 13 per cent.

Excerpts from ThisDay

Exchange rate as at 29/04/2016

COUNTRY          CURRENCIES       IN NGR(Naira)
 EUROPE                     EUR                         N363/Euro
US DOLLAR               USD                          N322/Dollar

GBPOUNDS               GBP                          N457/Pound

Nigeria tax authority targets N4.9 trillion in 2016

     The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says it is targeting a revenue of N4.9 trillion in 2016. Chairman of FIRS,Mr Tunde Fowler, disclosed this at the opening of the 134th Joint Tax Board meeting in Kano.He assured that 80 per cent of the targeted amount would be collected before the end of the year.

“It is a known fact that once the oil price drops, the revenue from the sector will drop.
“So, our mandate now is to ensure increase in the non-oil revenue to ensure stability in the entire system,’’ Mr. Fowler said.

     He recalled that the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, had dismantled all road blocks across the country as part of efforts to check indiscriminate and multiple tax payment.

Bizblog term of the week: Value added tax(VAT)

       Value added tax is a tax payable by individuals or organisation on consumption of goods and services.There are exemptions to items that should be charged against VAT.Value added tax is borne by the final consumer of a good or service and it is charged at 5%.

     The tax is collected on behalf of the government by organizations which have registered with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for VAT purposes.VAT payment are usually made monthly to the federal inland service tax offices on or before 21st day of the month following that in which the transaction was made. 

    Simply put that VAT is a consumption tax payable by final consumer of a product or service which is deductible from the cost of such transaction.

Items exempted from Value added tax include;

• MEDICAL, VETERINARY AND PHARMACEUTICAL RAW MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS

•  BASIC FOOD ITEMS(For the purpose of VAT, basic food is defined as any unprocessed staple food item, whether or not it is packaged);- Meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen.

• INFANT FOOD

• BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES

• COMMERCIAL VEHICLES AND SPARE PARTS

•  AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS

Services provided as follows are also exempted from VAT;

    -Medical and health care services;

    -Services rendered by Community Banks, People's Bank and Mortgage Institutions            (interest earnings on loans by commercial bank and premiums paid to insurance companies   are not vatable

   -Performance conducted by educational institutions as part of learning;

   - Social services (orphanages, charities, and fire fighting);

  -Pure postal service (excluding giro services);

  - Non-commercial cultural services;.- Non-commercial cultural services;.- Overseas air    transportation;

 - Public telephone (coin operated) and telegram services. This does not include private telephone or telephone used for business or commercial purposes

   

       

Nigeria to Generate $2bn Revenue from Tourism

    The  Director General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr. Paul Angya, has said that Nigeria can rake in billions of dollars from tourism and hospital industry sector.According to him, the government is determined to develop tourism as a means of growing the country’s economy, noting that Nigeria was ready to take her share of the global trillion dollars tourism investments.

      He said “As Nigeria diversifies its economy from oil, tourism and its related activities can be one of the game changers for foreign exchange earnings, job creation, infrastructure development and business,” 

   The SON  DG said World Economic Forum (WEF) report in 2015 showed that West African countries are among the least in global tourism, stating that poor performance in Africa could be adduced to limited accessibility in terms of airline traffic, shortages of hotels and other lodgings, skilled staff, inadequate service and security concerns.

Dangote Group to start $1 billion cement plant in Edo

      Dangote group started constructing a one billion dollars cement factory in Okpella,the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the six million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) Okpella plant and the upcoming six mmtpa plant in Itori, Ogun State, will increase the company’s local production capacity to 41 mmtpa annually.

  

       The Okpella project, which is to be constructed within 26 months, will provide 6000 direct jobs and 45,000 indirect jobs in the community

      Kayode Fayemi, the Minister of Solid Minerals, said at the ground breaking ceremony at Okpella on Sunday that the cement plant was an evidence that the diversification agenda of the Federal Government was already working.

    Mr. Fayemi said that the cement plant would be a model that would bring positive changes to the nation’s solid minerals sector in the areas of job creation, foreign exchange earnings and local content promotion.

  He said that mining sector was currently contributing 0.34 per cent to the GDP and had potential to contribute over $25 million annually to the economy by 2025.Mr. Fayemi advised other investors to take a cue from Dangote’s commitment and support to transform the nation’s economy through active participation.

  Okechukwu Enelamah, the Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment, commended the expansion drive of Dangote Group through its commitment to liberate the country from cement importation, increased job creation and foreign exchange earnings.

Telecommunication Coy's reject new tax law on electronic communication service

   Telecommunication companies (Telcos) have collectively rejected fresh plans by the National Assembly to introduce a bill that will promote a new tax on electronic communications services, targeted at operators and their subscribers.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), in a joint statement, condemned the planned hike in telecoms tariffs and called on the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu and the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, to intervene quickly to prevent the adoption of the new tax on electronic communications services, as planned by National Assembly.

 The proposed tax is to be levied on charges payable by users of electronic communication service, which include any communication through the use of wire, radio, optical or electromagnetic transmission emissions or receiving system or part of these and include interconnection at nine per cent of the charge for the service. The specific services highlighted are voice calls, SMS, MMS, Data, TV viewing, even though they do not seem to be exclusive.

Culled from ThisDay

Top stock gainers for yesterday's trading activities

ACCESS	3.56	3.71	0.15	4.21
AFRIPRUD	2.5	2.61	0.11	4.4
CAVERTON	1.58	1.64	0.06	3.8
CONTINSURE	1	1.03	0.03	3
FCMB	0.86	0.9	0.04	4.65
FIDELITYBK	1.35	1.37	0.02	1.48
FIDSON	1.92	2	0.08	4.17
GUARANTY	14.21	14.83	0.62	4.36
HONYFLOUR	1.35	1.39	0.04	2.96
NB	105	106.99	1.99	1.9
OANDO	4.26	4.52	0.26	6.1
PRESCO	34.6	35.01	0.41	1.18
TRANSCORP	1	1.03	0.03	3
UCAP	1.5	1.52	0.02	1.33

World Bank lowers growth projections for Nigeria

The World Bank on Monday lowered its 2016 sub-Saharan African growth forecast to 3.3 per cent from a previous forecast of 4.4 per cent in October, citing plunging global commodity prices.

The bank said the commodity price rout, particularly for oil, which fell by 67 per cent from June 2014 to December 2015, as well as weak global growth were behind the region’s “lackluster” performance.


The average growth rate in the SSA region came in at three per cent last year, a severe slowdown of 1.5 percentage points from the year before, the World Bank said in the twice-yearly Africa Pulse economic update.

That is the slowest rate of economic expansion since 2009, when the sub-Saharan Africa region suffered delayed blowback form the global financial crisis.

In 2016, growth is seen accelerating a little, to 3.3 per cent points, a performance the bank calls “lackluster.”

The report blamed “low commodity prices, weak global growth, rising borrowing costs, and adverse domestic developments in many countries for the slowdown across the region, noting that worst-hit were “the region’s largest commodity exporters.”

“Overall, growth is projected to pick up in 2017-2018 to 4.5 per cent,” the World Bank said in a statement.

It said a projected uptick in economic activity next year would be driven by economic powerhouses including South Africa, Nigeria and Angola as commodity prices stabilise.

Zenith Bank shareholders endorses payment of N62.7bn dividend

      Shareholders of Zenith International Bank plc have approved the payment of N62.79 billion dividends earlier recommended by Board of Directors of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2015. This translates to N1.80 per share dividend payable to shareholders whose names appeared on the register of members as at March 24, 2016.

     Speaking on behalf of other shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos,  the trio of Sir Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria ( ISAN); Mr. Boniface Okezie,  National Chairman,  Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria ( PSAN); and Timothy Adesinya commended the bank on the performance and dividend recommended,  saying that it is in tandem with shareholders’ expectations. 

        They observed that the performance was commendable in view of the global economic climate,  regulatory headwinds and inconsistent policy pronouncements under which the bank operated. Sir Sunny Nwosu also commended the bank for achieving 2.2 per cent Non-performing Loan (NPL) ratio, which is far below five per cent regulatory requirements. Earlier in his address, the Chairman,  Mr. Jim Ovia, said: “2015 has been an interesting,  challenging and successful year for Zenith Bank. However, the concerted efforts of all our stakeholders made it possible for us to sustain our profitability streak in the year. “Even in the face of a very challenging operating environment, Zenith Bank has maintained its culture of outstanding performance and industry leadership.  As a bank, we are monitoring developments both in the domestic and global economy, and applying pragmatism and dynamism as appropriate.” Laying the financial results before the shareholders.

      Ovia disclosed that the Group profit before tax grew by 4.9 per cent from N119.80 billion in year 201 to N125.62 billion. Profit after tax, according to him, jumped by 6.2 per cent during the period from N99.45 billion to N105.66 billion. The Group total assets similarly rose by 6.7 per cent from N3.76 trillion in 2014 to N4.01 trillion in 2015, while customers deposits grew marginally by 0.8 per cent from N2.54 trillion to N2.56 trillion. Group shareholders fund grew by 7.5 per cent from N552.64 billion in 2014 to N594.35 billion; gross earnings similarly grew by 7.2 per cent from N403.34 billion to N432.53 billion in 2015 he said.

Culled from ThePunch

ICAN certifies more members with IFRS skills

               The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has certified about 30 members with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Certification.

    15 members were certified for the Forensic Accountant of Nigeria and Financial and Information Technology Consultant respectively. Speaking at the occasion of the Faculties Joint Induction Ceremonies for the 2015 Forensic Accounting; IFRS and Consultancy and Information Technology Certification training programmes, ICAN President, Otunba Olufemi Deru, said that the Faculties were created by the Council in 2001 as part of strategies to address the post-qualification specialisation needs of members in response to market demand. According to him, “Over the years, the institute has been producing chartered accountants who have diverse competencies in the practice of audit, taxation, insolvency, corporate finance, financial advisory services, secretariat services, public finance, information technology amongst others.

            Chairman, Board of Audit, Investigation and Forensic Accounting Faculty, Mr. Francis Medessou said “There is a need for more chartered accountants especially those trained as forensic accountants with skills to investigate financial crime and produce reliable and credible reports with which they will report the evidence that will facilitate judicial decisions on matters of fraud and financial and economic crimes.”

Professor Osinbanjo ,Vice president of the Federal republic of Nigeria says VAT rate is too low

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has described the current five per cent Value Added Tax rate in the country as very low, adding that the Federal Government would increase the taxpayer base this year.







      VAT is a consumption tax payable on goods and services consumed by individuals, government agencies and business organisations.“To move the nation forward, we must move beyond oil. The reality is that while oil accounts for 14.4 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product, it continues to be the source of 90 per cent of official foreign exchange earnings; and prior to this year, up to 76 per cent of government revenues,” Osinbajo said.

“In order to move forward, we must reduce the current dependence of the federal and state governments on the ritual sharing of revenues from oil. Doing so requires broader and genuine efforts at the diversification of our economic structures in terms of drivers of economic activities. The foundation for a strong economy requires that we have appropriate fiscal policies,” the vice president explained.

GTB targets N125bn PBT in 2016

             Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc said it is targeting a profit before tax of N125 billion for 2016 financial year ending December 2016. The bank also said it hopes to be the best-run-bank in the banking industry within the year, while maintaining a very high standard of corporate governance and  compliance to relevant laws and policies.

     The Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said the bank would focus on growing small and medium enterprises (SME) business by lowering cost of funds and maintaining margin.

    “We will grow risk assets of our institutional banking business and non-performing loans (NPL)  below of below five percent,” he said, adding that the bank would leverage technological advancement to keep cost low.

    Reviewing 2015 full year financial result, the GTB boss said the bank achieved best in class shareholders return and asset deployment as post-tax Return on average Equity (ROaE) and Return on average Asset (ROaA) closed at 25.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent respectively, adding that subsidiaries’ contribution to the profit before tax (PBT) closed at 6.9 per cent versus 7.2 per cent in FY 2014. Also, the bank recorded gross earnings of N301.9 billion, representing 8.4 per cent increase from N278.5 billion recorded in the previous year.

     The bank’s profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) rose by 3.7 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively. While the PBT rose to N120.7 billion from N116.4 billion, PAT moved from N94.4 billion in full year 2014 to N99.4 billion in the review period. The balance sheet result showed that GTB grew its total assets by 7.2 per cent from N2.36 trillion to N2.52 trillion. Loans and advances to customers stood at N1.37 trillion as against N1.28 trillion posted in the previous period in 2014.