Regulatory Alerts2007-12-05 | BSD/DIR/GEN/CIR/VOL.1/018Circular to Government Revenue Collecting Banks - Ensuring Timely Remitance of Government Revenue by Deposit Money Banks
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reminds government revenue collecting banks of their responsibility to remit government revenue on time. In 1999, the CBN delegated its retail banking role with the government to deposit money banks. Since then, these appointed banks have been required to submit all collections within an agreed timeline. However, the CBN has observed that some banks fail to meet these deadlines, particularly when collecting funds on behalf of Nigeria's National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from its depots across the country. This issue disrupts the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee meetings and distribution of revenue to federating units, negatively affecting monetary policy execution due to the NNPC account's size. The CBN warns it will no longer tolerate this behavior and demands that all future revenue collected on behalf of NNPC be submitted within 24 hours after receiving payment instructions from NNPC, failing which their accounts will be debited accordingly. Defaulting banks risk being prohibited from collecting future revenues for both the NNPC and other government parastatals. The CBN seeks continued cooperation and support from all affected institutions.