GTBank Ordered to Refund 8 Years of VAT Commission

GTBank has been ordered to refund VAT commission collected over the last 8 years, following a court ruling regarding unlawful charges.

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) has been directed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives to review and transfer Value Added Tax (VAT) on its commissions garnered via Remita from 2015 until 2022.

Payment of the remitted VAT is to be directed towards the federal government’s recovery account.

During an investigative hearing on revenue leakages related to the Remita platform and non-compliance with standard procedures for service agreements, PAC Chairman Rep. Bamidele Salam issued a directive.

Two essential concerns were recognized by the committee, namely, the VAT remittance associated with Remita collections and fee collection during the first stage of Remita transactions.

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The committee was presented with representatives from GTBank and various other financial institutions including Keystone Bank, Zenith Bank, Sterling Bank, Polaris Bank, FCMB, Ecobank and Wema Bank.

The committee was informed by Ahmed Liman, the Executive Director of GTBank, that the bank had failed to remit VAT for a period spanning eight years.

According to him, the bank held Remita accountable for disbursing commission fees among concerned parties and also managing tax deductions as required.

Upon reviewing the matter, the committee directed GTBank to compute and transfer the Value Added Tax (VAT) on commissions received from Remita spanning from 2015 until 2022. These funds must be remitted into a federal recovery account managed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Similar problems encountered by other banks were addressed through referral to a reconciliation sub-committee, tasked with rectifying disparities and making preparations for their subsequent appearance before the PAC.