FIRS seals firms In Abuja, Lagos, Asaba over N715m unpaid taxes

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) tax enforcement exercise resumed on Monday in Lagos, Abuja, Asaba and Onitsha as firms were sealed for unpaid taxes.

In Abuja, the first company sealed by the FIRS enforcement team, led by Chinazo Edeh, was Urban Shelter Limited, a property development firm, located in Shippers Plaza in the Wuse Zone 5 Area of Abuja.

The company is owing N637 million in arrears of taxes accumulated from 2008 to 2016.

Mohammed Sanni, tax liason officer of Urban Shelter, said the company has submitted a payment plan which was yet to be approved to FIRS.

The leader of the enforcement team however said the company must pay at least 50 per cent of its tax liabilities to avoid its premises being sealed.

The company was subsequently sealed as the managers could not make the payment.

In Lagos, the FIRS enforcement team, led by Anita Erinne, shut the premises of Venro Energy Limited, situated at 250b, Ikorodu Crescent on Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi, over a tax debt of N29million.

Also sealed was the office of Enegas, situated at 14 Oladipo Diya Street, 2nd Avenue Estate in Ikoyi.

A woman, who attended to the enforcement team, caused a mild drama, when she said the company is owing because it does not have money to pay the N15million outstanding taxes.

Leader of the team told her to instruct staff to vacate their offices within 10 minutes. The woman, however, refused to vacate her own office, telling FIRS officials that they were being unfair.

She eventually agreed to leave her office and the company was shut at about 2:50pm.

In Asaba, the FIRS sealed the premises of Davnotch Nigeria Limited failure to meet its tax obligations over four years.

The FIRS team, led by Ruth Mandeun, wielding a warrant of distraint, ordered the staff to vacate the premises.

Tax arrears owed by Davnotch Nigeria Limited between 2011 and 2015 is N34.5million, comprising Company income tax, education tax, withholding tax and late return tax.

The few workers in the office made unsuccessful attempts to contact the Managing Director and top management staff, who were absent during the operation.