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Polaris Bank Floors Abia Govt at Tax Appeal Tribunal

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polaris bank nigeria

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Polaris Bank Limited, which was formerly operating as Skye Bank Plc, has won its case against the Abia State Government over a N1.528 billion tax assessment disagreement brought before a tax appeal tribunal sitting in Enugu State.

The lender had taken the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue to the tribunal, seeking to determine if the agency followed due process provided in tax laws and regulations in dealing with it.

According to Polaris Bank, it wanted to know if the state government was entitled to collect development levy and business premises levy without enabling state’s laws and whether the tax agency was entitled to collect penalty and interest based on any of the notices it served.

After listening to the arguments of the parties, Chairman of the appeal tribunal, Mr Chukwuemeka Eze, said, “From the foregoing, the tribunal resolves all the issues in favour of appellant and consequently granted reliefs 1 to 6 of the appellant.”

On issue six, the appeal tribunal said from its decision of June 20, 2019 in Nigeria Breweries PLC V. Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, the notice and grounds of appeal by the respondent were competent. He noted that one of the takeaways from that decision is that the respondent is a juristic person.

He, however, advised tax payers not to wait for a tax audit before discovering and paying monies under remitted.

Mr Eze also said that a tax authority does not impose tax, but tax legislations; while a tax authority collects as stipulated in section 1 of PITA.

“You should be mindful of how your approach to tax issues will impact on investment in your State. Giving a taxpayer 48 hours or 7 days or any other period less than what the statute provides and changing assessment figures like the colour of a chameleon reduces the confidence of the taxpayer in the tax system.

“There is need to adhere to the provisions of PITA and relevant regulations in your dealing with taxpayers,” the tribunal chief said.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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Banking

CBN Clears Otedola’s Nominee to Join FBN Holdings Board

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Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga FBN Holdings

By Dipo Olowookere

After acquiring a significant stake in FBN Holdings Plc, oil mogul, Mr Femi Otedola, now has someone to protect his interest in the financial institution.

A few months ago, FBN Holdings was embroiled in a leadership tussle between Mr Otedola and the current chairman of the company, Mr Tunde Hassan-Odukale.

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and other stakeholders had to intervene in the matter and it was clearly made known that Mr Otedola is the largest single shareholder of FBN Holdings, which is sometimes fondly called First Bank.

It was feared that Mr Otedola may topple his rival from the position when shareholders of the company meet at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) later this year.

On Tuesday, Business Post gathered that Mr Otedola’s nominee to the board has been cleared by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a non-executive director.

The new member of the FBN Holdings board of directors is Mr Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga, the deputy chief executive of Geregu Power Plc.

In 2018, Mr Otedola sold his 75 per cent stake in Forte Oil Plc, which later became Ardova Plc, to acquire Geregu Power Plc.

His confidence and trust in Mr Omodayo-Owotuga may have influenced his decision to send him to FBN Holdings to protect his interest in the financial institution.

Mr Omodayo-Owotuga was formerly with Mr Otedola at the defunct Forte Oil as the Group Executive Director in charge of Finance and Risk Management.

He is a finance expert with huge experience in Finance, Risk Management, Treasury, Internal Controls, General Administration, Procurement, and Information Technology.

While at Forte Oil, he was a member of the Executive Management Team that restructured a then moribund company into a vibrant industry player.

He equally led the capital restructuring, acquisitions, debt capital raise, maiden credit rating and divestment initiatives.

Prior to joining Forte Oil Plc, he had responsibility for the Asset and Liabilities Management function at the Africa Finance Corporation.

He is a KPMG trained finance professional who possesses extensive investment experience spanning Financial Services, Power and Oil & Gas sectors with a proven track record of significant achievements.

His two decades of work experience spans blue-chip companies such as KPMG; Standard Chartered Bank; Africa Finance Corporation (AFC); Forte Oil Plc, MBC International Bank (Now First Bank of Nigeria Limited) and Geregu Power Plc.

Mr Omodayo-Owotuga is an alumnus of Oxford University’s Said Business School, United Kingdom, IE Business School, Madrid, Spain and the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

He has a B.Sc. in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration (with distinction). He is a CFA Charter Holder; a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) and The Institute of Credit Administration.

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Banking

Fidelity Bank Customers Win Millions of Naira in GAIM 5 Promo

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Fidelity Bank Customers GAIM promo

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

On Thursday, January 27, 2022, some Fidelity Bank customers had the opportunity to win millions of Naira in the month’s draw of the lender’s Get Alert in Millions savings promo, season 5 (GAIM 5).

It was gathered that no fewer than 10 customers of the financial institution became N1 million richer. They were from several branches across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria and presented with their prizes at an event held at Fidelity Bank, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

One of the winners, Stanley Okpoto, who could not hide his joy, said, “I am more than happy to receive this cash prize from Fidelity Bank.

“Being a long-time customer and follower of the bank, I feel special and grateful that as little as 2K earned me so much money. I am looking forward to how this money will further transform my business. I encourage my friends and family to take advantage of this life-changing opportunity.”

Also speaking at the well-attended event, the promo Chairman and Executive Director in charge of the bank’s Lagos and South-West Directorate, Dr Ken Opara, said the ceremony marked a special celebration for the bank being the first prize presentation for the year and therefore sets the tone for the remaining prize presentations to be held in the year.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce the presentation of the sum of N1 million to Ajoma Rachael Iyowo and Stanley Sunday Okpoto who emerged winners in the second GAIM 5 monthly draw which held last week.

“Asides Stanley and Ajoma, eight other customers of Fidelity Bank will receive cash prizes at similar events holding simultaneously at some of our branches across Nigeria. These customers only had to maintain a minimum of N2,000 in their Fidelity Bank accounts to emerge winners. That is the beauty of the GAIM 5 savings promo.

“As a bank, we remain committed to empowering our customers with the resources, expertise and solutions they need to meet their strategic business goals. Whether it is the right loan product, appropriate payment channel or in this case, the benefits for saving their money with us, we are all about providing platforms and solutions to help our customers grow,” explained Dr Opara, who was represented by the bank’s Chief Digital Officer, Lanre Showunmi, stated.

The GAIM campaign is an 8-month long scheme that was launched in November 2021. So far, Fidelity Bank has enriched the lives of over 520 customers with cash prizes ranging from N10,000 to N1 million in weekly consolation draws and monthly draws respectively.

Qualifying requirements for the scheme are maintaining an account balance of at least N2,000 in a Fidelity Bank savings account and activating a debit card. According to the bank, the promo employs a ticketing approach whereby each N2,000 in customers’ accounts represents a ticket in the draws.

In operation since 1988, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank with a growing customer base of over 6 million customers across Nigeria. The bank is known for exceptional customer service and digital innovation.

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Banking

Subscription for N20bn FSDH Merchant Bank Series 6, 7 CP Ongoing

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FSDH Merchant Bank

By Dipo Olowookere

FSDH Merchant Bank Limited is currently selling the series 6 and 7 of its commercial paper and it plans to raise about N20 billion from the exercise.

Business Post gathered that subscription for the corporate debt instrument commenced on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, and will end on Monday, January 31, 2022.

The exercise is under the financial institution’s N40 billion commercial paper programme issuance, which would be used to finance the company’s short-term working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

According to details of the sales, the series 6 is with 181-day maturity with a discount rate of 9.00 per cent and an implied yield of 9.42 per cent, while the series 7 is a 268-day tenor with a discount rate of 9.75 per cent and an implied yield of 10.50 per cent.

FSDH Merchant Bank is the subsidiary of FSDH Holding Company Limited. It operates as a private limited liability company duly licenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to carry on merchant banking activities in the country.

The firm said investors can subscribe to the papers as they are free and clear of withholding taxes, though the minimum subscription is N5 million, with multiples of N1,000 thereafter.

A look into the books of the lender indicated that its liquidity profile is above-average as its liquid assets accounted for about 60 per cent of its total assets in the 2021 financial year.

However, in the accounting year, the gross earnings fell year-on-year by 15.48 per cent to N13.79 billion, with interest income contributing about 80 per cent to the revenue.

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