38 Tax Clearance Certificate Appointment of Agent 39

(1) The Service may Issue a Tax Clearance Certificate to anyone within two weeks of receipt of an application if:

(a) the Service is of the opinion that:

(i) taxes or levies assessed on the person or his income or property for the three years immediately preceding the current year of the assessment and collectible by the Service has been fully paid,

(ii) no such tax or levy is due on the person or on his income or property; or

(iii) the person is not liable to tax for any of those three years:

(b) the person is able to produce evidence that he was subjected to withholding tax deduction at source and that the assessment year to which the tax relates falls within the period covered by the tax clearance, and that he has fully paid any balance of the tax after credit has been given for the tax so deducted; provided that payment of income tax for the current year shall not be made a condition for the issuance of the certificate unless the applicant is leaving the State finally.

(2) The Tax Clearance Certificate may be issued in paper form or stored in electronic format on a machine-readable smart card (in this Bill referred to as "Electronic Tax Clearance Certificate") which holds tax information peculiar to that applicant and which shall be presented by the holder whenever his tax status is required.

(3) Where a person who has applied for a tax clearance has discharged his own tax liability but has failed to remit Withholding Tax or Pay as You Earn deductions collected by him on behalf of the State, no tax clearance may be issued to that person.

(4) The Service may decline to issue a Tax Clearance Certificate but it shall within two weeks of receipt of the application give reasons for the denial.

(5) A Ministry, Department, Agency or Official of the State, Any Local Government Official, any Corporate Body, Statutory Authority or person empowered in that regard by this Bill or any other law shall demand a Tax Clearance Certificate for the three years immediately preceding the current year of assessment as a pre-condition to transacting any business, including but not limited to:

(a) application for Governor's Consent to any real property transaction:

(b) application for Right of Occupancy, Certificate of Occupancy, Grant and Re-grant of Titles to, and the Regularization or Recertification of Titles to Real Property;

(d) application for Award of Contracts by Government, its Agencies and Registered Companies:

(e) application for approval of building Plans;

(f) application for any government License or Permit:

(g) any application relating to the establishment or conduct of business;

(h) application for Any Government Loan or Guarantee or Acquisition of Assets for Housing, Agriculture, Business or any other purpose:

(i) registration of vehicles and change of ownership thereof;

(i) registration for Distributorship;

(j) confirmation of Appointment by the Governor as Chairman or Member of any Statutory Board, Institution, Commission, Company or to any other similar position in the Government;

(k) application for Allocation of market stalls, shops and the like;

(m) appointment or election into public office; and

(n) any other application or process for which a Tax Clearance Certificate is required under this Bill, Clause 84 of the Personal Income Tax Act, or any other enactment of the State House of Assembly and the National Assembly.

(6) Without prejudice to the provisions of the Stamp Duties Act and any applicable Act of the National Assembly, the appropriate authority shall demand tax clearance when checking documents of property transaction before accepting such documents for Stamping or Registration as the case may be.

(7) The Board is empowered to prescribe, by Notice in the State, other purposes for which a Tax Clearance Certificate may be required.

(8) A Tax Clearance Certificate shall contain the following information relating to each of the three years immediately preceding the current year of Assessment:

(a) chargeable income of holder;

(b) tax payable;

(d) tax outstanding, and where no tax is due from the holder or from his income or property, the Certificate shall contain a statement to that effect.

(9) The Service shall be the sole authority to issue a Tax Clearance Certificate under this Bill but it may exercise its powers by employing the services of any person or Company, provided that:

(a) the information which the Service requires the tax payer to provide (the data) shall not be excessive in relation to the purpose for which the Tax Clearance Certificate is to be issued;

(b) the Service shall request from the taxable person all details that are necessary to keep the data accurate and up to date;

(c) the Service shall make available to the taxable person, a smart card with the taxable person's identity number, names, signature and photograph embossed on the front side;

(d) the card shall hold data in respect of a particular taxable person in a secure format that can be accessed for authentication;

(e) the data shall be made accessible to third parties only in a form which permits identification of the taxable person and access to information on him for no longer than is necessary for the purpose of verifying his tax;

(f) the Service shall provide terminals free of charge to all persons or authorities empowered by this or any other Legislation to Demand Tax Clearance Certificate from any person;

(g) the Service shall ensure that the taxable person's data on the card are kept confidential to the same extent as their ordinary tax records;

(h) every person having any official duty or being employed in the administration of this Bill shall regard and deal with all documents, returns, assessment or other information as secret and confidential; and

(i) the Service shall not be liable for damages or any loss incurred by the cardholder as a result of inaccuracies in data supplied by him.

(10) A person issued with a Tax Clearance Certificate or Electronic Smart Card shall, upon application, be advised as to:

(a) confidentiality of the information supplied;

(b) fees or charges for reissuing a lost card;

(d) procedure for review of personal data.

(11) The Board shall have power, from time to time, by an Order in the Gazette to make such other Regulations as it may consider necessary for effective implementation of the Electronic Tax Clearance Certificate Scheme in the State.

(1) The Service may, by Notice in writing, appoint a person to be the Agent of another person and the person so declared as agent shall be the agent of that person for the purpose of this Bill, and may be required to pay tax which is or will be payable by the person from any money which may be held by him for or due by or to become due by him to the person whose agent he has been declared to be, and in default of that payment the tax shall be recoverable from him.

(2) For the purpose of this Bill, the Service may require any person to give information as to any money, fund or other asset which may be held by him or any money due from him to any person.