The Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS) has taken measures to close Enugu ShopRite, SPAR, and other supermarkets on grounds of purportedly failing to remit purchase tax revenues from their malls to the government.
Following the enforcement operation, the service issued a statement on Tuesday morning accusing the malls and stores affected of refusing to remit withholding purchase taxes despite receiving multiple warnings.
The statement, signed by ESIRS spokesperson Nnamdi Eneh, also disclosed the sealing of Roban Stores and Mama Onyinye restaurant, among others, for the same offence.
Egwuonwu Perpetual, who heads the department overseeing eateries, bars, hotels, and shopping malls at ESIRS, stated that the agency had made several visits to the sealed malls to request evidence of purchase tax payments, but to no avail.
She clarified that the enforcement action primarily targeted the purchase tax, which buyers pay when patronising these establishments.
Egwuonwu further noted that despite ongoing pleas for compliance with tax remittance deadlines, the affected parties had persistently failed to adhere to instructions.
She said:
“It is worthy of note that after we met with the Roban Stores, they displayed our sticker and have complied with remitting their purchase tax to the IRS.
“On the other hand, ShopRite has frustrated all our efforts to get them to 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 have not heard from them.”
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