Edo revenue service seal nine firms for Utesi over ₦8.98bn tax wey dem no pay
- Edo State Internal Revenue Service don seal nine companies wey mostly Chinese people own for Utesi, Ikpoba-Okha LGA.
- Di agency talk say di firms owe ₦8.982bn for PAYE and employer tax returns wey dem no pay.
- EIRS talk say di seals go stay until di companies settle; no company don respond publicly.
Nine companies wey dey operate for Utesi Community, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, don shut down by di Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) over unpaid taxes wey di agency put at ₦8.982bn.
Di firms mostly get Chinese nationals as owners. Dem include Rongtai Plastic Company Limited, Rongtai Hardware Limited, Rongtai Energy Technology Company Limited, Rongtai Building Materials Company Limited and Rongtai Food Company Limited.
Di others na Five Star Wire and Cable Company, Xin Guo Technology Nigeria Limited, Changrong Wood Nigeria Limited and Shunda Nigeria Enterprise.
Courage Eboigbe, wey head corporate communications and taxpayer enlightenment for di EIRS, announce di closure for one statement on Friday for Benin City.
Why dem seal di firms
According to di EIRS, di debt build up because di companies no meet their tax duties. Di agency talk say dem fail to register workers for Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax, dem no file yearly employer tax returns, and dem no deduct and remit PAYE.
Eboigbe talk say di agency serve each company with notices wey set out wetin dem owe before dem move in. He talk say reminders and demands follow, but di firms no pay, so di EIRS obtain court orders and seal di premises.
Eboigbe talk say di enforcement orders still dey in force and di seals go come off only when di companies clear wetin dem owe.
Punch report di figure as ₦8.9bn for dia own text, while dem quote di EIRS statement at ₦8.982bn. BusinessDay also give ₦8.982bn.
Wetin e mean for workers and di state
PAYE na di tax wey dem dey take from salaries and send to di state. When employers fail to remit am, workers fit get hit twice: dem dey deduct money from dia pay, yet di state record dem as owing.
Di closure also affect livelihoods for Utesi, where di factories dey. Di companies never talk publicly about di action, and di EIRS no talk how many workers e affect.
For Edo, di case na part of a wider push to grow internally generated revenue as federal allocations remain uncertain. Di state don dey tighten enforcement against defaulting businesses.
None of di companies don convicted of a crime; di dispute na over tax compliance, and di EIRS action rest on court orders.
Wetin go happen next: Di seals go stay until di companies pay wetin di EIRS talk say dem owe. Di firms fit also go back to court to challenge di assessment. Di EIRS never talk whether e go publish full breakdown of each company's bill.
