*Goverment’s Chief Accountant, Ahmed Idris Cannot Reconcile the nation’s revenue collection under one pulse called Single Treasury Account
IT NEWS NIGERIA:
Nigeria Accountant-General of the Federation, OAGF, is having trouble reconciling revenues being paid into the Government Treasury Single Account, TSA, because Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) did not adhere guidlines.
IT NEWS NIGERIA learned Government revenue office directed that revenue payers must quote the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, GIFMIS, Revenue Reference Numbers, RRN, of the MDAs to which such payments are made through the Remita platform.
Vanguards reports that A Treasury Circular with reference number TRY/A2&B2/2007/OAGF/CAD/026/VOL.III/93 dated May 17, 2017, was issued by OAGF to all MDAs. However, the problem has persisted.
Consequently, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has directed all Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, to ensure strict compliance with the use of the GIFMIS Revenue Reference Numbers, RRN, in collecting revenue into the Treasury Single Account, TSA.
The directive is contained in a directive to banks in a circular with Reference, BPSD/DIR/GEN/CIR/04/009 dated September 25, 2017.
It said each Ministry, Department and Agency, MDA, has been allocated RRNs, which must be quoted by those paying revenue through them. The RRN, the OAGF said, was the only means of knowing where revenues into the TSA were coming from, but disclosed that many revenue payers don’t quote the numbers, thus making it impossible for it to identify the sources of such funds.
The CBN circular, signed by the Director, Banking and Payment System Department, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, read: “As part of its efforts to boost revenue collection, the Federal Government mandated the use of electronic means for all its revenue inflows into the TSA.
“In order to properly classify receipts and ensure reconciliation, the OAGF has introduced a GIFMIS revenue reference number for all revenue collected on behalf of MDAs for the FG through the Remita platform into the TSA.
“However, we have noticed that the use of the GIFMIS RRN is not being adhered to, thereby making it almost impossible for the OAGF to reconcile revenues collected to the TSA. “With effect from October 1, 2017, all DMBs are to ensure mandatory use of the GIFMIS RRN at the point of revenue collection into the TSA.
The GIFMIS RRN shall be provided by the respective MDAs to the revenue payer to enable them remit the funds.”
