The Director General of NOTAP, Dr. Obiageli Amodiobi (left) and the Director Intergovernmental Relations department of FIRS, Dr. Umaru Idris Ahmed during the visit

The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) is on the verge of strengthening its working relationship with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to ensure that all companies operating in the country pay the necessary taxes associated with the deployment of foreign technology through the registration of technology transfer agreements.

Speaking while playing host to a delegation from the Department of Intergovernmental Relations of FIRS, led by the Director, Dr. Umaru Idris Ahmed on a courtesy visit to the NOTAP Corporate Headquarters recently, the Director General of NOTAP, Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi said that NOTAP had assisted the Federal Inland Revenue Services in ensuring an increased revenue generation through its operations.

She said that NOTAP was established in the early 70s to regulate the inflow of foreign technologies into the country through the registration of Technology Transfer Agreements but also has the responsibility to encourage the efficient development of indigenous technologies. She added that one of the very important clauses NOTAP considers imperative during the process of evaluation and registration of technology transfer agreements was evidence of tax payment from the FIRS and any application that doesn’t have such document will be referred to FIRS for prompt compliance before it can be approved and registered.

The DG noted that prior to recent developments, the FIRS did not take cognizance of the assistance being rendered by NOTAP, with a wrong notion that the Office’s operations were discouraging importation of foreign technology, until when the matter was discussed extensively at a national forum. She stated that for any organization to effectively achieve its mandates, it must collaborate with other critical and resourceful stakeholders, hence the need for strategic synergy.

Dr. Amadiobi further informed the visiting team that NOTAP is playing a pivotal role in the technological and economic sustainability of the nation, notwithstanding that these efforts had not been well acknowledged. She added that prior to NOTAP’s intervention in the critical areas of the nation’s economy, more than 90% of the technologies that powers the Country’s economy were foreign.

She emphasized that in ensuring a speedy technological development of the Country, NOTAP in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2006, initiated the establishment of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in the Nigerian knowledge institutions to encourage demand-driven research.

The NOTAP Boss said that with the establishment of IPTTOs in selected Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics and Research establishments, and adding to the aggressive sensitization of the Nigerian researchers on the importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, patentable inventions and innovations have started emanating from the knowledge institutions.  

The DG further stated that the Office had made an appreciable improvement in her revenue generation, noting that the multiplier effect of the increased revenue is the ripple effect it has created, which has further translated to increased revenue of the FIRS. She also informed the visitors that as the office’s revenue generation has increased, the number of foreign technologies being transferred into Nigeria through the registration of technology transfer agreements has also increased.

According to a Press Release signed by Mr. Raymond Onyenezi Ogbu of the Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NOTAP, Dr. Amadiobi stated that NOTAP was concluding arrangements to kick-start a national technology based developmental programme called “Project NOVA” that will necessitate the emergence of Technology Hubs in all the geo-political zones of the federation. She added that these hubs will serve as the infrastructure where young talented Nigerians will be groomed on high tech skills based on the experience and observations of the Office on the existing technology gaps in the country, which are noted while implementing its technology transfer regulation mandates. She called on the FIRS to be a strategic partner in the “Project Nova” through the provision of the necessary hardware and operational logistics support.

Responding to NOTAP DG’s presentation, the leader of the FIRS delegation said that the Intergovernmental Relations department was established to seamlessly coordinate relationships between the Service and other agencies of government. He said that the goal of the Service is to be one of the most trusted revenue generating agencies in the world through efficient and transparent operational processes.

The Director informed the DG that his department is the face and image of the FIRS, hence the decision to pay a courtesy visit to NOTAP and gain better understanding of the mandate and its operations and also establish effective collaboration strategies towards the actualization of the mandates of both organizations.

He said that the Federal Inland Revenue Services was ready and committed to providing the necessary support and assistance to agencies such as NOTAP that play pivotal roles in achieving revenue optimization for the Services and by extension, the nation. He noted that the anticipated transition to the Nigerian Revenue Services will further empower it for greater efficiency in service delivery.

The Director used the opportunity to congratulate the Office on the achievements recorded, especially with the fruitful interventionist programmes in the Nigerian knowledge establishment, leading to the increased number of registered patents from the system. He requested that NOTAP submit a proposal on the required areas of support for consideration by the Service.