House Of Reps Summons Ministry Of Trade Officials Over N2.6trillion Tax Evasion

Officials of the Ministry of Trade and Investment have been summoned by House of Representatives over alleged N2.6trillion capital allowances granted MTN.

The House Committee on Public Accounts chairman, Oluwole Oke, summoned the officials on Tuesday during the resumed investigative hearing into the audit queries on tax evasion.

The query was issued by the office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, indicating that the documents relating to the N2.6trillion capital allowances were allegedly forged.

She added that the committee invited MTN over tax evasion, adding that the Auditor-General Office, in its report, observed that Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) accorded value to the telecoms company.

According to the statement, in some cases, it was without certificates and evidence of capital allowance issued by the trade ministry, reflecting the whole assets procured by the company.

“We have issues in this country where funds are not adequate for government to carry out policies and programmes. Which is why we had to borrow even though there are massive revenue leakages,” he stated. “MTN has also made appearances where N2.6trillion was seen as the taxable value for assets of the company.”

He also explained that Nigerians had the right to know the implications of MTN taking a certificate of N2.6 trillion to FIRS for tax waivers on the economy.

“The parliament simply wants to know whether it should sustain the query raised by the auditor-general or absolve the company of the allegations of tax evasion,” he said.

He added that it would be wrong to accuse it of such if the records tally with the company’s submission.