A destroyed refinery By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) says it has destroyed 134 illegal refineries in the last few weeks. Also, the company said 63 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered during the the weeks . The corporation, In a visual report, stated that at about 2 am on Sunday, a joint team of security agents discovered a large wooden boat illicitly loading stolen crude oil from Barge AGS01 within the OML 18 operating area, noted intelligence report a large wooden wooden boat was caught receiving crude oil from the barge. According to the state-owned oil firm, while the barge was towed away with a tugboat in custody, five speedboats used in towing the large wooden boat to the illegal loading site were also detained and the particulars of the tugboats and barge used for the operation were reportedly seized for further investigation. It further said that two large boats, which involve
By Favour & Akinola Ajibade
The Federal Government has set up a technical committee to resolve issues relating to the payment of tax liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) within a period of six months.
The committee, which comprises of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ( NUPRC) , Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority ( NMDPRA), Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS), the Presidency and the Presidency in the Office of Chief of Staff , Special Adviser Energy and her counterpart in Revenue Section, have been mandated by the Federal Government, to ensure that all tax liabilities are paid in the next six months.
Prior to this period, the government has ordered ship owners operating in the country to pay up their outstanding tax liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS) within three months, with a view to ensure that all debts owed by owners are paid to this coffers of the government.
Recall that some companies were owing several millions of dollars in tax liabilities covering over 10 years.
Speaking on the issue during an interactive sessions with ship operators at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zacheaus Adedeji warned that Nigeria can no longer afford a situation where vessels are moving in and out of the country without prompt payment of their liabilities.
Adedeji notes that ship owners have received demand notices from Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in line with the extant laws of the country on tax liabilities covering ten year period from 2010 to 2019, and ranging in amount from $400,000 to $1.1 million per vessel, aggregating it to reach tens of millions of dollars.
“So, we’ve agreed to give the parties three months to come to the conclusion and we will also give a grace period of six months, when we will not enforce any of these laws, just to allow for reconciliation’, Adedeji said at the meeting.
“In essence, no vessel or ship will be detained or delayed. So, we give this six months break for them so that they can reconcile with this technical committee that we set up.
“Nigeria, as you know, is open for business and we are business-friendly, as you’ve seen from what we’re doing and what we will do.
“So, we are open, but that is not to say that anybody will take advantage of the country. We have the law and the law must be respected”, he said.
He allayed the fears of the stakeholders within the oil and gas sector, spelling out the agreement reached to avert vessel withdrawal so as not to disrupt the flow of products.
He said the problem arose from the demand notice to the vessel owners issued in accordance with extant tax laws to make their remittances.
Adedeji, however, warned that Nigeria would not succumb to blackmail as its laws must be obeyed.
“However, we will not detain or arrest any defaulting ship or vessel because this is what is causing panic.
“We’ve sent them demand notice and the agreement is that we should give them some time. So, we’ve agreed to set up a technical committee to resolve these issues.
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