The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) to calculate and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) to the federal government recovery account for the commission it received from Remita between 2015 and 2022.
This directive was issued during an investigative hearing into alleged revenue leakages involving the Remita platform and non-compliance with operating procedures.
Rep. Bamidele Salam, the Chairman of PAC, raised concerns about the remittance of VAT from Remita collections and fees charged in the first phase of Remita transactions.
Several banks, including Keystone, Zenith, Sterling, Polaris, FCMB, Ecobank, and Wema, were summoned to appear before the committee to address these issues.
In his submission, GTBank’s Executive Director, Ahmed Liman, admitted that the bank had not remitted VAT during the eight-year period.
Liman explained that the bank had assumed Remita was responsible for managing the commission fees, stating,
“We believe that Remita is saddled with the responsibility of sharing the commission fees between the payment-receiving parties.”
Regarding the collection of fees, Liman clarified that GTBank charged a 0.75% fee on payments made through the Remita platform, and in 2018, the bank received N254,489,013 in commission from the Accountant General through Remita.
Following the submission, the committee instructed GTBank to calculate and remit the VAT owed on the commission fees for the 2015–2022 period to the federal government’s recovery account, held by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Other banks present at the hearing were referred to a reconciliation sub-committee to address discrepancies and ensure accurate reconciliation before their next appearance.
This investigation underscores the government’s efforts to address revenue leakages and ensure compliance with financial regulations.
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