The Nigerian Government has ordered all bank account holders with financial institutions in the country to obtain, complete and submit a new “self-certification” form or face monetary penalties and inability to operate accounts.
In a tweet posted late Thursday, @NigeriaGov, the government said the forms are with Income Tax Regulations 2019 and would include, “form for entity”, “form for controlling person” and “form for individual”.
The new directive and its purpose are, however, already being achieved by the Bank Verification Number, an 11-digit biometric identification system mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which collected and still collects all data of account holders, making the new “self-certification” forms a duplication of process.
The tweet reads in parts, “INFORMATION: 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.
“Persons holding accounts in different financial institutions are required to complete and 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 a controlling interest in a legal person, trustee, etc) – Form for individual.
“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 @firsNigeria website (http://firs.gov.ng) for more details.”
