Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has generated N1.45 trillion revenue from tax in the second quarter of 2014 just as it has simplified tax certificate issuance processes.

According to the agency’s report on its operation during the period, the revenue was realized from oil and non-oil taxes.

The report said that N639.26 billion representing 43.93 per cent of the collected revenue was generated from Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) while N815.9 billion or 56.07 per cent was collected from non-oil taxes.

The breakdown of the collection from non-oil taxes showed that N556.3 billion was realised from company income tax, N197.25 billion from Value Added Tax (VAT) and N38.06 billion from Education Development Tax (EDT).

It also indicated that collection from consolidated account during the period was N12.03 billion, N7.6 billion from technology development fund and N2.5 billion from gas income.

Stamp duty, the report revealed, accounted for N1.86 billion of the revenue while N290.4 million was realized from capital gain tax during the period.

Meanwhile the agency is to review the process of issuing Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) to make the procedure simpler and less cumbersome.

The Acting Executive Chairman of FIRS, Kabir Mashi, said the review was necessary to reduce the incidence of tax fraud, fast-track the payment of taxes as well as ease delay associated with the issuance of TCC to taxpayers.

Mr. Mashi, who stated this at the opening of the Field Operations Group Regional Management Meeting (FOGRMM) in Asaba, Delta State, said the Service would work towards realising this objective before the end of the year.

“The issuance of Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) is a very important aspect of what we do in the Service,” Mr Mashi said. “We have to clear all huddles on the process of issuing TCC. Some taxpayers tend to forge TCCs, because the process of getting it after the application is very slow. This in turn reduces the amount of tax revenue that could have accrued to the Federal Government. In order to increase tax collection, the process of issuance of TCC has to be faster.”

Mr. Mashi reviewed the operations of the Service in 2012, pointing out that the performance in the first quarter of the year was better than the corresponding period last year.

“In the first quarter of 2012, our quarterly revenue target is N909 billion and the Service has already collected N1.7 trillion for the period. This is better than last year’s first quarter performance of N955 billion and 29 percent over and above government target for the year.

“But there is an interesting twist to this. While Petroleum Profit Tax contributed about 72 per cent of the total collection, compared with the target set by the Service, we fell short by over N10billion. The total target set by the Service in 2012 is N5.085trillion, this translates to about N1.27 trillion on quarterly basis.”

The Coordinating Director, Field Operations Group (FOG), Samuel Ogungbesan, encouraged the staff and management of the Service to embrace the ongoing restructuring process in the interest of the nation’s economy.

“The current restructuring, which was done along taxpayer segmentation, is aimed at growing the taxpayers, thereby enhancing effective monitoring and coverage at the same time as well as allowing for better focus on each segment so that their specific needs can be understood and addressed,” Mr. Ogungbesan said.