The Nigeria Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed that it recovered only $2 billion from the $9.8 billion uncovered by its audit reports as differential between what was paid and what government received.
The balance of $7.8billion, the agency said was still in the hands of companies.
NEITI said it also welcomed the recent bold decision of the Tax Appeal Tribunal which ordered Mobil to pay $83.4 million to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The judgment by the Tax Appeal Tribunal represented Education Tax liability of the company to the Federation Account in year 2008.
NEITI said it found the courageous judgment by the Tribunal as a fundamental positive development in its efforts to draw national attention to the findings and recommendations on the issues of underpayment and underassessment in royalties, taxes, signature bonuses, rents exposed by its independent audit reports of the oil and gas sector over the years.
In a statement signed Orji Ogbonaya Orji, Director of Communications, NEITI said the “judgment was also a vindication of its 2006 – 2008 findings of the independent audit of the Oil and Gas sector. In that audit, NEITI clearly revealed that Mobil owed $83.28 million Education Tax for 2008. However, before the litigation and landmark judgment by the Tax Appeal Tribunal, Mobil had insisted that it had no Education Tax liability to the Federation.
“It is on record that NEITI has consistently alerted the nation that out of $9.8 billion uncovered by its audit reports as the difference between what was paid and what government received, only $2 billion has been recovered through NEITI efforts, leaving a balance of $7.8 in the hands of companies.
“The judgment by the Appeal Tribunal was therefore a wake-up call for government agencies to rise up to the challenge and engage companies to remit outstanding revenues due to government.
“It is noteworthy that the judgment is coming at a time when Nigeria through the Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB), the European Union member countries, United Kingdom and United State are putting in place stringent regulations to compel extractive industry companies to embrace contract transparency, due diligence and corporate social responsibility.
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