Economy
KWIRS Generates N9.6bn in Q1 2021
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A total of N9.6 billion was generated in the first quarter of 2021 by the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS). This is the highest ever collected by the agency without any extraordinary item at any quarter since its founding in 2016.
At a news briefing in Ilorin, the state capital on Tuesday, the executive chairman of the agency, Ms Shade Omoniyi, attributed this feat to the adoption of technology, the steady blockage of leakages within the tax administration system and the deliberate steps taken to tackle multiple taxations.
“KWIRS, since inception, has operated a manual tax administration system. This means the assessment and collection of relevant taxes payable to the state government from both KWIRS and other MDAs are on a contract basis.
“Despite this, the service has recorded steady IGR growth over the years. Upon its assumption of office in October 2019, the agency’s new management began working tirelessly to sustain this momentum. These efforts culminated in the IGR growth from N23 billion as of September 30 to N30.7 billion as of the end of the year, 2019.
“The service did not rest on its oars as various revenue and cost-cutting initiatives were immediately implemented to shore up the state IGR while it worked assiduously to automate its revenue and tax administration processes.
“The various revenue leakage blockages paid off when in quarter one of 2020, the service generated N7 billion. However, with the spread of the COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown of the state by the government towards the end of March and up until May, the state IGR plummeted to N2 billion.
“Given that the state’s economy was greatly affected by the lockdown and the state’s collection system was still contact-based as at this time, it was only to be expected that no serious activities would happen in the revenue space for that period.
“It is also known that Kwara State was one of the states who followed the COVID-19 protocols fully which is a main factor for the Q2 2020 revenue performance.
“In addition, you may recall that the state was adjudged as one of the highest in performance and proactiveness in the fight against COVID-19 on all indices by various monitoring entities.
“Recently, there was a similar feat of the government in the administration of the COVID-19 vaccination where the state topped all other states.
“Notwithstanding, with the gradual easing of the lockdown, revenue generation by the service again shot up to N4 billion in Q3 2020 and N6 billion in the Q4 of 2020.
“Thus, it is made obvious that the low IGR figures in Q2 and Q3 and consequent dip in 2020 IGR performance are solely attributable to the COVID-19 incidence and our contact-based collection which proved quite ineffective while the lockdown lasted. These observations were enumerated in the quarterly revenue collections reports released by the service in the year 2020.
“The service has since then not stopped working round the clock to recover lost grounds. Thus, in the first quarter of 2021, KWIRS recorded an IGR of N9,598,504,939.90, the highest so far in the history of the service without an extraordinary item.
“Having mapped out strategies to achieving its IGR target for the current fiscal year, the first quarter collections show steady and significant growth, month-on-month as indicated below: January (2,984,312,074.60); February3,058,746,474.21; March 3,555,446,391.09, totalling 9,598,504,939.90.
“This feat of KW-IRS in Q1, 2021 was a great improvement over the N6,227,099,973.42 raked in the last quarter of 2020.
“It is a reflection of the relentless efforts of the service in bringing seamlessness to tax administration through automation and introduction of online payment platforms to ease payment of all taxes.
“It is also a reflection of the Harmonized Bill recently introduced to serve the following benefits among others: calculates, consolidates and communicates all payable tax revenue and non-tax revenue as applicable to each eligible taxpayer in the State, within any assessment year; brings all eligible businesses into the tax net; stops illegal negotiations between taxpayers and collectors in the ministries or KWIRS offices and prevents diversion of funds; displays all taxes due for payment by a particular taxpayer to block most of the leakages and educates on double and multiple taxations by showing that a single entity or taxpayer could be charged to different revenue lines depending on nature of business.
“In addition to the Harmonized Bill, other initiatives have been introduced. This includes re-profiling of our taxpayers, making mandatory the submission of schedules along with remittances; carrying out prompt enforcement on recalcitrant taxpayers, expansion of ticketing model for the informal sector etc.
“The remarkable growth in the 2021 first quarter IGR is equally an indication that the Kwara State Government continues in its efforts to ensure the economic activities of the state recovers fast from the crippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The KWIRS, in spite of the drive to increase IGR, has not introduced new taxes since the inception of the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; the required and legitimate taxes due are what is being paid by taxpayers and collected appropriately into the coffers of the state.
“All revenue lines of the MDAs in Kwara State are same as approved and as provided by existing relevant laws.
“KWIRS will continue to work to ensure improvement in revenue generation; veritable support for the federal allocation to ensure the state government meets its responsibilities and the desires of Kwarans.
“The agency will also continue its collaboration with all MDAs and stakeholders in the state for effective and efficient collection of all that is legally due from taxpayers.
“The service will strategically and systematically play its part by using most appropriate technology and committed workforce for the growth of revenue for the state.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
President Bola Tinubu has signed the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 into law, repealing the Investments and Securities Act No. 29 of 2007
The enactment of the ISA 2025 reaffirms the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the apex regulatory authority of the Nigerian capital market. The new Act also introduces transformative provisions to further align Nigeria’s market operations with international best practices.
It strengthens the legal framework of the Nigerian capital market, enhances investor protection, and introduces critical reforms to promote market integrity, transparency, and sustainable growth.
The Director-General of the SEC, Mr Emomotimi Agama, lauded the President’s assent as a transformative step for the capital market.
“The ISA 2025 reflects our commitment to building a dynamic, inclusive, and resilient capital market. By addressing regulatory gaps and introducing forward-looking provisions, the new Act empowers the SEC to foster innovation, protect investors more efficiently and reposition Nigeria as a competitive destination for local and foreign investments.
“We commend all stakeholders within and outside the capital market community for their unwavering solidarity towards the achievement of this historic milestone and solicit their continued collaboration in respect of the effective implementation of the ISA 2025 for the benefit of our economy,” he stated.
Business Post reports that the Act enhances the regulatory powers of the SEC in a manner comparable with benchmark global securities regulators. These enhanced powers and functions ensure full conformity with the requirements of IOSCO’s Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (EMMoU), enabling the SEC retain its Signatory A status and enhancing the overall attractiveness of the Nigerian capital market.
Other notable provisions of the ISA 2025 include:
Classification of Exchanges and inclusion of provisions on Financial Market Infrastructures– The Act classifies Securities Exchanges into Composite and Non-composite Exchanges. A Composite Exchange is one in which all categories of securities and products can be listed and traded, while a Non-composite Exchange focuses on a singular type of security or product. There are also new provisions on Financial Market Infrastructures such as Central Counter Parties, Clearing Houses and Trade Depositories.
Expansion of the definition and Understanding of Securities – The Act explicitly recognises virtual/digital assets and investment contracts as securities and brings Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Digital Asset Operators (DAOPs) and Digital Asset Exchanges under the SEC’s regulatory purview.
Comprehensive Insolvency Provisions for Financial Market Infrastructures – The Act introduces provisions that exempt transactions facilitated through or otherwise involving Financial Market Infrastructures from the application of general insolvency laws.
Management of Systemic Risk – The Act introduces provisions for the monitoring, management and mitigation of systemic risk in the Nigerian capital market.
Expansion of the Category of Issuers to the Public– The Act expands the categories of issuers, as a key step towards the introduction of a wide range of innovative products and offerings as well as the facilitation of “commercial and investment business activities”, subject to the approval of the Commission and other controls stipulated in the Act.
Legal Framework for Commodities Exchanges – The Act contains a new Part which provides for the regulation of Commodities Exchanges and Warehouse Receipts. These provisions are essential to allow for the development of the entire gamut of the Commodities ecosystem.
Issuance of Securities by Sub-Nationals and their Agencies– Salient provisions of the Act address existing restrictions in respect of raising of funds from the capital market by Sub-Nationals to allow for greater flexibility in this regard.
Transparency in Securities Transactions – The Act introduces the mandatory use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) by participants in capital market transactions. This stipulation is designed to improve transparency in the conduct of securities transactions.
Enforcement Against Illegal Investment Schemes – The Act expressly prohibits Ponzi Schemes and other unlawful investment schemes while prescribing stringent jail terms and other sanctions for the promoters of such schemes.
Strengthening the Investments and Securities Tribunal– The Act amends some key provisions in the repealed ISA 2007 pertaining to the Composition of the Tribunal, constitution of the Tribunal, qualification and appointment of the Chief Registrar as well as the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to enhance the ability of the Tribunal to optimally discharge its mandate.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited recovered 0.22 per cent on Friday despite sell-offs in the banking and the energy counters.
The banking index went down by 0.96 per cent, the energy industry depreciated by 0.35 per cent, the consumer goods sector tumbled by 0.20 per cent, and the commodity space declined by 0.17 per cent, while the insurance and industrial goods sectors improved by 0.09 per cent and 0.01 per cent, respectively.
The All-Share Index (AS) increased by 234.52 points to settle at 105,660.64 points compared with the preceding day’s 105,426.12 points, and the market capitalisation gained N147 billion to close at N66.257 trillion versus Thursday’s N66.110 trillion.
During the trading session, UPDC and Abbey Mortgage Bank appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to trade at N2.97 and N4.73 apiece, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills surged by 9.96 per cent to N87.75, Mutual Benefits jumped by 9.38 per cent to N1.05, and Royal Exchange soared by 8.25 per cent to N1.05.
Conversely, International Energy Insurance shed 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, Africa Prudential declined by 10.00 per cent to crashed by N13.05, Cadbury Nigeria depreciated by 9.42 per cent to N23.55, UPDC REIT slumped by 9.09 per cent to N5.50, and RT Briscoe lost 7.69 per cent to finish at N2.40.
During the session, investors transacted 547.6 million stocks valued at N21.6 billion in 13,244 deals versus the 423.6 million stocks worth N9.2 billion traded in 11,393 deals on Thursday, implying a growth in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 29.27 per cent, 134.78 per cent and 16.25 per cent, respectively.
Mutual Benefits was the most active equity after selling 73.9 million units for N77.5 million, Cutix traded 72.0 million units worth N179.1 million, GTCO transacted 67.9 million units valued at N4.6 billion, Fidelity Bank exchanged 47.6 million units worth N904.3 million, and Universal Insurance traded 33.0 million units valued at N19.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira recorded its first relative gain against the Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) this week on Friday, March 28.
The domestic currency appreciated against the greenback by 65 Kobo or 0.04 per cent during the session to settle at N1,538.26/$1, in contrast to Thursday’s exchange rate of N1,538.91/$1 as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) boosted forex liquidity to stabilize the market.
Over the last few sessions, the local currency had depreciated due to FX liquidity squeeze in the absence of interventions from the central bank.
So far, interventions in the market this month have neared $1 billion in a bid to strengthen the Nigerian currency.
However, the Naira lost against the British Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N1.00 to sell for N1,991.87/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,990.87/£1 and against the Euro, it declined by N1.40 to quote at N1,660.99/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s value of N1,659.59/€1.
At the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira gained N5 against the US Dollar yesterday to close at N1,555/$1 compared with the preceding trading day’s value of N1,560/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was down on Friday amid a sell-off in US stocks due to poor economic data, with crypto-focused stocks also suffering heavy losses.
Continued macroeconomic woes weighed on the broader crypto market with the implementation of broad-scale US tariffs next week on April 2 by the administration of Mr Donald Trump, which compounded investor concerns across markets.
Ripple (XRP) lost 5.3 per cent to finish at $2.13, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.8 per cent to trade at $126.89, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 4.4 per cent to sell at $0.1755, and Binance Coin (BNB) depreciated by 4.2 per cent to $606.31.
Further, Litecoin (LTC) dropped 3.1 per cent to close at $86.21, Cardano (ADA) went down by 2.9 per cent to settle at $0.6869, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 2.5 per cent to $83,699.86, and Ethereum (ETH) slid by 2.2 per cent to $1,877.62, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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