By Moses Daniel
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has commenced an investigation into a disputed N123.48 billion deduction by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) from Education Tax collections, following a disagreement between the agency and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) over the legality of the deductions.
The dispute emerged on Wednesday in Abuja during the committee’s consideration of audit queries relating to revenue collections and remittances, with both agencies offering conflicting interpretations of the legal provisions governing the four per cent cost-of-collection charge.
TETFund’s Director of Finance and Accounts, Dr. Gloria Olotu, told the committee that the four per cent collection charge should apply only to non-oil revenue and not the entire Education Tax, collected.
She explained that the Auditor-General had initially raised concerns over discrepancies between the Education Tax collected by the NRS and the amount subsequently remitted to TETFund, prompting the Fund to investigate the deductions.
According to her, the investigation revealed that the NRS applied the four per cent charge to the entire Education Tax revenue without excluding the component attributable to oil companies.
Olotu disclosed that calculations based on figures submitted by the revenue agency showed that excess deductions between 2012 and 2024 amounted to N123,486,953,796.24.
She said TETFund had written several letters to the NRS seeking a refund of the disputed amount but had yet to receive a favourable response, maintaining that the deductions were inconsistent with the applicable legal provisions.
However, the NRS, represented by its Executive Director, Shettima Tamadi, rejected TETFund’s position, insisting that the deductions were lawful under Sections 15A and 69 of the NRS Act.
Tamadi argued that Section 69 defines non-oil revenue as all revenue other than proceeds from Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT), stressing that Education Tax paid by oil companies does not fall under PPT.
He explained that oil companies pay Petroleum Profits Tax separately and that the NRS does not impose collection charges on such payments.
Following the submissions, the committee, chaired by Rep. Bamidele Salam, observed that although the NRS’s interpretation appeared straightforward, the disagreement required an authoritative legal interpretation by the Attorney-General of the Federation.
TETFund informed the lawmakers that it had previously sought the Attorney-General’s opinion on the matter.
The committee, however, resolved to independently obtain the necessary legal advice before reaching a determination on the legality of the deductions.
It subsequently adjourned the hearing and directed TETFund to submit its written position, alongside relevant legal documents, to facilitate further examination of the disputed N123.48 billion.
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