ANAMBRA STATE REDOUBLES EFFORT IN THE COLLECTION OF SIGNAGE FEES

The Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo enjoined residents to pay their signage fees to help boost government revenues needed to develop the state. He advised that they should not pay cash to anybody but through the bank. The payment through the bank will help to stop the activities of illegal tax collectors and let the government have enough funds.

This new revenue push was announced this weekend in a statement by Mrs. Sylvia Tochukwu-Ngige, the
Head of Taxpayer Education and Enlightenment of Anambra State Internal Revenue Service (AiRS).
AiRS

The statement read, “One important area that needs improvement to raise revenue for the government is signage fees. According to Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSAA) Law 2010, Section 19 (1) ‘Every outdoor structure owned by any person in the State shall be registered by its owner. Section 24 says ‘It shall be unlawful for any person to erect, conduct, enlarge or structurally modify an outdoor structure or operate any structure for signage or advertisement without first being registered by the Agency.”

“As Anambra State Government is currently operating a new system of revenue collection, it becomes important that signage fees be keyed properly into it for seamless revenue collection. Based on this, the AiRS advised all business owners in the state that have a signpost or banner showcasing their shops, schools, restaurants, commercial businesses, professional firms, hotels, filling stations, etc, to go to the office of Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency to either get registered or renew their permit immediately to avoid removal of the signpost.”

“Remember that payment of cash for a signage permit in Anambra State is no longer allowed; rather all payments are now to be made into any commercial bank nearest to the signage fee payer, using the Anambra State Identity Number (ASIN).

The statement concluded, “Demand notice for signage fee is electronically generated by the system and not written manually. Anyone issuing a manual demand notice is a thief and not a government official.”

Anambra State collected about N28billion in internally generated revenue (IGR) in 2020, making it the highest ranking state in the South East Zone. The state’s revenue agency is headed by Mr. Richard Nworah Madiebo who took over in March 2022 from the former Executive Chairman, Dr. David Nzekwu.