Edo revenue service seals nine firms in Utesi over ₦8.98bn unpaid taxes
- Edo State Internal Revenue Service has sealed nine mostly Chinese-owned companies in Utesi, Ikpoba-Okha LGA.
- The agency says the firms owe ₦8.982bn in unpaid PAYE and employer tax returns.
- EIRS says the seals stay until the companies settle; no company has responded publicly.
Nine companies operating in Utesi Community, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, have been shut by the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) over unpaid taxes the agency puts at ₦8.982bn.
The firms are mostly owned by Chinese nationals. They include Rongtai Plastic Company Limited, Rongtai Hardware Limited, Rongtai Energy Technology Company Limited, Rongtai Building Materials Company Limited and Rongtai Food Company Limited.
The others are Five Star Wire and Cable Company, Xin Guo Technology Nigeria Limited, Changrong Wood Nigeria Limited and Shunda Nigeria Enterprise.
Courage Eboigbe, who heads corporate communications and taxpayer enlightenment at the EIRS, announced the closure in a statement on Friday in Benin City.
Why the firms were sealed
According to the EIRS, the debt built up because the companies did not meet their tax duties. The agency said they failed to register workers for Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax, did not file yearly employer tax returns, and did not deduct and remit PAYE.
Eboigbe said the agency served each company with notices setting out what it owed before moving in. He said reminders and demands followed, but the firms did not pay, so the EIRS obtained court orders and sealed the premises.
Eboigbe said the enforcement orders remain in force and the seals will come off only when the companies clear what they owe.
Punch reported the figure as ₦8.9bn in its own text, while quoting the EIRS statement at ₦8.982bn. BusinessDay also gave ₦8.982bn.
What it means for workers and the state
PAYE is the tax taken from salaries and sent to the state. When employers fail to remit it, workers can be hit twice: money is deducted from their pay, yet the state records them as owing.
The closure also affects livelihoods in Utesi, where the factories sit. The companies have not spoken publicly about the action, and the EIRS did not say how many workers are affected.
For Edo, the case is part of a wider push to grow internally generated revenue as federal allocations remain uncertain. The state has been tightening enforcement against defaulting businesses.
None of the companies has been convicted of a crime; the dispute is over tax compliance, and the EIRS action rests on court orders.
What happens next: The seals stay until the companies pay what the EIRS says they owe. The firms can also go back to court to challenge the assessment. The EIRS has not said whether it will publish a full breakdown of each company's bill.
