By Disun Amosun
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, (PAC) has carpeted the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, over his continuous disregard for the invitation of the Committee, saying his actions amount to contempt of parliament.
Rep. Bamidele Salam, Chairman, PAC said this at the resumed investigative hearing on revenue leakages in Abuja Thursday.
The Chairman, while reading the riot act against the FIRS boss, said, “This is the fourth time the Committee would be inviting the FIRS Chairman but he failed to show up.”
According to him, in addition to writing to him officially, “we have also made sure that such letters were delivered personally to his mailbox and his WhatsApp platform.”
“And we condemn and describe his continuous absent as irresponsible and arrogant, and we tell him that there will be consequences if he continues this contempt of this parliament”, he warned.
He said that several letters had been written to him without responses on the value-added tax that should accrue to the Federal Government, but is yet to be collected by FIRS.
Rep Salam said VAT from the revenue collected by engaged revenue collection platforms ought to have gone to the FIRS, but added that they would rather add the tax together and share it with the CBN, Banks and such platforms.
He said “by the time, we finished our reconciliation, the money would be in hundreds of billions,” adding that “this was what they were asking the FIRS to come and collect, but the service had refused to show up.”
The Committee Chairman said given the importance of the Committee’s assignment, the FIRS, as the apex regulator of government accruable revenue, must be seen to be in sync with PAC in blocking leakages in government revenue.
