In its bid to mitigate the dwindling revenue and foster more non-oil revenue streams, the federal government Thursday said it was on the verge of deploying an Integrated Secure Track and Trace Solution to boost revenue earnings through excise and tax collection.
This was made known when the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) Michael Ohiani presented the Outline Business Case (OBC) compliance certificate to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, affirming that the project was viable.
Ag. Head, Media and Publicity, Manji Yarling, in a statement in Abuja said the PPP solution which will adopt the Build, Operate and Transfer option, will allow the federal government, through the Ministry of Finance, to establish an effective and non-intrusive control on a broad range of goods and services subject to excise duty, safety and standards.
According to the statement, while receiving the OBC certificate, the minister said the proposed solution was very important at this time as the government was currently constrained in terms of revenue and required an urgent boost.
“The purpose of this project is to enable the ministry have visibility over a number of key products that are made in Nigeria, in terms of the quantity and companies that produce them.
“It is also to differentiate between the same products produced in Nigeria and the ones that are imported, the bottom line is for us to be able to maximize our revenue potentials.
“Having had several meetings with the proposing company, we thought that the best way to do this is through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and I am glad that the Outline Business Case (OBC) Compliance Certificate has been issued,” she said.
Speaking while presenting the OBC, DG ICRC, Michael Ohiani said that the solution will bring about many benefits to Nigeria including: stem illicit trade and revenue leakages; improve revenue generation for the Government; ensure circulation of high-quality goods and services; achieve economies of scale and synergies amongst Ministry’s agencies; enhance technology and knowledge transfer and generate employment opportunities.
“The proposed solution when implemented will allow the Federal Government of Nigeria to establish effective and non-intrusive controls on a broad range of markets, such as goods and services subject to excise duty, and goods subject to conformity with health, safety and quality standards.
“Additionally, the solution aims to reduce the levels of counterfeiting, sub-standard quality, tax evasion and under-declaration in these markets,” Ohiani said.