FIRS shuts Costain W/Africa over N2bn tax debt

By -
(Nigeria) In continuation of its efforts to recover unpaid taxes, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Tuesday, sealed the offices of Costain West Africa Plc, First Deepwater Discovery Limited, CAT Construction Group Limited and OPI International Limited, all in Lagos. 

Costain West Africa Plc is  owing  N2billion in Company Income Tax, Value Added Tax and other taxes. 

First Deepwater Discovery Limited, located at 20, Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, has tax liabilities of N230million, made up of withholding tax, education tax and value added tax. CAT Construction Group Limited, located at 20C Ogunlewe Street, off Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, is owing N176million in taxes.
OPI International Limited, located at UBA House, Marina, owes N3 million in company income tax and value added tax.
A top management staff of OPI pleaded with the enforcement team to grant the company an extension of the grace period for the resolution of its tax liabilities.
However, Anita Erinne, leader of the FIRS enforcement team, ignored pleas and ordered the office sealed after she had ordered the staff out of the office.
“I have to carry out the directive as I have been directed,” said  Erinne.
 The FIRS team arrived Costain West Africa Plc’s office, located at 174 Funso Williams Avenue, off Apapa/Oshodi Expressway at 1p.m. About half an hour later, the company was sealed.
A top official of the company told the team that the company’s chairman was not available to attend to the team. The official also claimed the company has already started discussions with the FIRS on how to defray its tax liabilities, something Erinne said she was unaware of.
In Onitsha, Anambra State, the FIRS team, shut down four business premises. At the Building Materials International Market, Ogbunike, the team closed down the offices of Shoelz International Limited over a tax debt of N32million. 
Also affected by the enforcement exercise was Midfield West Africa Limited, which defaulted on a tax obligation of N11million. Felixo International Hotel Limited in Oba was sealed for owing taxes totalling N15million.
Also in Onitsha, Ekwenibe and Sons Trading Company Limited was shut over a tax liability of N78million.  Mr. Chibuzor Edeh, leader of the enforcement team in Onitsha, said all the affected companies were served several reminders, which they ignored, leaving the FIRS without an option other than enforcement.
 The renewed crackdown on tax defaulters began on Monday, when FIRS enforcement teams shut the premises of four companies in Lagos and Owerri, Imo State. In Lagos, Capital Oil Plc had its offices shut over a tax debt of N30million. 
In Owerri, the FIRS sealed two eateries and a hotel. The affected eateries were De Mange Eatery and City Chef, which owe  N20million and N2.1million respectively.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UBTH @50: Obaseki hails institution’s role in strengthening Edo healthcare

By -
Image
(Nigeria) Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has commended the staff and management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for their unwavering commitment, dedication, and hard work in providing high-quality healthcare services to the people of Edo State and Nigeria in the past fifty years. Obaseki, at a dinner organized in honour of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Nigeria, at the Government House, Benin City, reassured the government’s continuous partnership and collaboration with the federal government-owned health institution to strengthen the health system and ensure quality health delivery to Edo people. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, reeled out the gains of the government’s reforms in the health sector, commending the medical centre for bolstering the government’s efforts at transforming Edo State into a health hub. He said, "We came into a wilderness where you have to cut a part for yourself and fix it. We held
Read more

NBC has no powers to impose fine on broadcast stations --Court

By -
Image
(Nigeria) The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has been restrained by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, from imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country. Trial judge in the matter, Justice James Omotosho also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of 45 broadcast stations. The court made the orders in its judgment a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, which had sued the NBC. Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. The court further held that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law. He said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law. He said that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at
Read more