The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service has sealed Protea Hotel, close to Kuramo Waters in Nigeria's commercial city of Lagos. Speaking during a statewide tax law enforcement exercise in Lagos on Wednesday, Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, Head, Distrain Unit of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), disclosed that the LIRS has sealed Protea Hotel, close to Kuramo Waters, over alleged failure to remit N11.07 million personal income taxes deducted from workers’ salaries.
According to a report by Punch Newspaper, the Protea Hotel was earlier sealed by the service over evasion of N148.88 million consumption and hotel occupancy taxes on June 9, and the hotel reportedly broke the seal without LIRS consent, payment of the tax liabilities or due resolution of the issue.
Oshodi-Sholola said the tax liabilities were for 2012 tax audit year. “Before LIRS gets court order to seal a company, it usually sends at least two letters of notice to the management of the affected firms reminding them of the tax liabilities.
“So, both the demand notice letter and letter of intention to distrain were sent to the management of the hotel, but they failed to act on them,” she said.
LIRS DU head who led the enforcement team, said that it took the team over five hours to evacuate the management of the hotel out of the premises. “It was a difficult task before the management of the hotel, particularly its chairman, accepted to leave the hotel for the team to properly seal it.”
The hotel Chairman, Ajibola Aribisala, denied receiving any notice or letter from LIRS, saying that it did not received any recent letter from LIRS in respect to the company’s staff personal income tax. “I am ready to sue LIRS for this insult.”
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