Three Executive Bills currently before the House of Representatives, want three aviation agencies, to stop paying taxes to government and remitting of funds generated from its operations, to the Federation Account.
The prayer of the NCAA Bill, especially, contravene section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, which compels all aviation agencies of government to remit revenue generated to the Federation Account.
Copies of Bills exclusively obtained by VANGUARD, as sent to the House of Representatives and the Senate, are to repeal Acts setting up the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN and the Nigeria Airspace Management Authority, NAMA and to reenact fresh laws giving the agencies more regulatory and financial powers.
In the Bill that seeks to repeal the NCAA Act, titled “Civil Aviation Bill, 2019”, it states in section 21(3) that “Notwithstanding the provision of any other law, policy or circular in force, any fee imposed by or on behalf of the Authority, shall not be subject to any deduction by or remittance to any other body”.
It goes ahead section 22(1) to state that “The Authority shall be exempted from the payment of tenement rates and income tax or any other tax in force”, adding in section 2, that “the provision of the law relating to the taxation of the income of any company or contribution to any trust fund shall not apply to the Authority”.
The new NCAA law, also seeks to impose a 5% tax on sales of air tickets by airlines in the country.
The proposed law states in section 23(1) that: “There shall be a 5% of airfare, contract, charter and cargo sales charge, payable to the Authority which charge shall apply on all International and domestic air transportation originating in Nigeria irrespective of place of issuance of air ticket or execution of the contract of carriage.
“The 5% of airfare, contract, charter and cargo sales charge shall be chargeable on the total amount paid by a passenger for an airfare, in a contract relating to carriage of persons or goods for hire and reward in the case of air transportation not involving the issuance of an air ticket, paid for charter flight, and of the cargo sales.
“The Authority may delegate the power to collect the 5% of airfare, contract, charter and cargo sales charges to airlines and such funds collected shall be remitted to the Authority”.
According to the NCAA Bill, in section 5, “The 5% of airfare, Contract and Charter Sales Charge (CSC) payable to the Authority, shall apply to all operators engaged in transportation of persons by air for hire and reward whether using rotary or fixed wing aircraft”.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN & NAMA re-enactment Bills, also prohibit them from paying taxes.
Section 25 of the FAAN bill states that “The authority shall be exempted from the payment of taxes and tenement rates whatsoever in connection to it”.
The NAMA repeal and reenactment Bill also states in its section 27(1), that the agency “shall be exempted from the payment of tenement rates and income tax on any income accruing from investments made by the agency”.
The House of Representatives and the Senate will resume next week Tuesday, to consider pending pieces of legislation.
