The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has taken possession of the bank accounts of over 19,000 tax defaulters and vowed to keep the accounts under its possession until they regularise their tax status.
Apparently reeling from the accusation that it is not doing enough to generate revenue, the FIRS has gone ahead to publish the names of tax defulters with an advice to the tax defaulters to come along with some documents before the Service can release their bank accounts.
Some of the companies whose accounts have been taken over or placed under lien are Obasanjo Farms Nig. Ltd (Feedmill); Iyiola Omisore & Par; Citiroof Aluminium Co. Ltd; Coldstone Creamery Limited (Yaba); Davido Music Worldwide Ltd; Grand Square Supermarket and Stores Ltd; Open Heavens Bliss Enterprises; The Assemblies of God Nigeria; X3M Music Limited.
Others are: Tiger Foods Limited; Slot Enterprises; Payporte Technology Limited; Visionscape Sanitation Solutions Limited; Erisco Foods Limited Milk Cube account; God is Good Motors (Vehicle sales account); Hubmart Stores Limited and United Capital Plc among many others
To lift the lien on the business accounts, the FIRS urged the tax defaulters to take the following steps to regularize their tax status.
These are: Make payments of applicable taxes for the period owed; Visit the closest Substitution Review Unit (SRU) to: a) Fill Tax payers form as required; b) Attach evidence of tax payments made alongside the following: i. A letter to the ECFIRS on response to the substitution on your account; ii. Attach to letter a) Copy of your last file return; b) Copy of current tax clearance certificate; c) Bank statement for 3 years; d) Copy of incorporation and commencement of business.
The tax defaulters are also expected to: State Sources of income if Loan; or operate Bureau de Change etc.; the SRU team will analyse and give feedback or in the alternative “send these details to taxpay@firs.gov.ng.”
The FIRS had recently advertised that it would enforce the payment of whatever outstanding tax each company had against it.
Read Also: ‘FIRS boss not under probe’
In the advert, the FIRS warned that “all Companies, which had their Bank Accounts placed under Lien by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) pursuant to Section 31 of the FIRSE Act, but are yet to regularise their tax status with the FIRS, that if they fail, refuse or neglect to pay the tax due within 30 days of this Notice, the FIRS shall in accordance with Section 49 (2) (a- d) of the FIRSE Act proceed and enforce the payment of the said tax against all the Directors, Managers, Secretaries and every other person concerned in the management of the Companies and recover the said tax from such persons without further notice”
The FIRS also cautioned the tax defaulters that “for the avoidance of doubt, the above Section authorises the FIRS to proceed against and punish every officer, Manager, Director, Secretary or any person concerned with the management of the Company in like manner as if he/she had committed the offence.”
The Presidency led by the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Abba Kyari had sent a strongly worded query to the FIRS boss demanding an explanation why there are negative variance in the revenue generated between 2015 and 2018.
