Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), yesterday, sealed ShopRite and Spar for allegedly failing to remit tax on purchases made in their malls, despite several warning notices.
Officials, who carried out the enforcement, claimed that other malls in the state, following warning notices, had already included purchase tax on goods at their outlets.
Perpetua Egwuonwu, who led the team, said they had visited the two malls several times to request purchase tax, but there had been no compliance.
Egwuonwu, who is in charge of eateries, bars, hotels, and shopping malls, said: “ShopRite has frustrated all our efforts to get them do the needful. It is always one story or another. Eventually, they promised us that before the end of February, they would do something. But we are in March and the ESIRS has not heard from them.”
Egwuonwu stressed that the malls would remain closed until the issue is resolved. Also, spokesperson for the agency, Nnamdi Eneh, explained: “Our public enlightenment programme has been ongoing for a while. We have been sensitising the people and pleading with them to pay their taxes, so as not to fall victim during enforcement, but most of them remained adamant.
“The objective is not to disrupt anybody’s business. But since pleading did not work, this is the only way to compel them to do the needful.”
The shopping malls are the latest in a string of businesses that have been sealed in the past few weeks over non-payment of tax to the state government.
