Magaji: PoS Registration Will Plug Tax Leakages, Curtail Related Crimes

James Emejo in Abuja

Registrar-General/Chief Executive, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Magaji, has said ongoing initiatives aimed at ensuring registration of Point of Sale (PoS) operators in the country would plug revenue leakages and reduce crimes associated with their activities, particularly ransom-taking.

He said many PoS operators currently do not remit taxes to the government because their businesses are not registered with the commission and can’t be traced by tax authorities.

Speaking while inaugurating a dedicated secretariat to fast-track bulk and individual registration of the operators over the weekend in Abuja, ahead of the July deadline for compliance, the CAC boss further asserted that the commission as a custodian of business data, remained a reference point for security agencies whenever there were fraudulent activities that involved PoS transactions.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), has inaugurated a centre for bulk registration of Point of Sale (PoS) operators in its database.

He said it was therefore imperative for the government to have all such enterprises properly register for transparency and accountability among other benefits to the economy.

Magaji pointed out that the opening of the secretariat for business formalisation further demonstrated the seriousness of the government to these issues, adding that the essence was to also provide services to the public as well as receive both complaints and feedback and deepen financial inclusion.

He insisted that by law, every business in the country must be registered with the commission to be regarded as legitimate.

He said, “Doing the opposite means you’re breaking the law. And in our law, we are asked to penalise you N200 for operating PoS without registration from the day you commenced the PoS business without registration.

“But in the spirit of encouraging more business participation, and deepening financial inclusion, the administration of President Bola Tinubu has decided that no one would be penalised.

“We will accommodate you in order to regularise your businesses into the system and that’s why we have started to sensitise such businesses since December, educating them on the provisions of the law regarding this.”