FCT-IRS seals school, hotel, others in Abuja over tax evasion

The Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) has sealed a school, Regency Hotels, and three business premises in Abuja over alleged tax evasion.

The FCT-IRS Acting Director of Legal Services, Festus Tsavsar, who led the enforcement team, made this known in Abuja on Thursday, May 9, 2024.

The school and business premises shut were Gratias International School, Rural and Urban Homes Limited, Trevari International Company, and Phenomenon International Company.

Tsavsar noted that the closure was in line with a court order obtained by the IRS.

Tsavsar said the hotel and business premises contravened FCT tax laws by refusing to file their annual returns, despite issuing several notices, including a court summon.

He said: “Today, we went out to execute the court orders, which ordered the FCT-IRS to seal off the premises of defaulting taxpayers that were brought before it.

“We have been able to effectively comply with the court order by sealing off the premises as directed.

“We went to Gratias International School located in Games Village, Kaura, and sealed it off.

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“The offence they committed was refusal to file their annual returns despite many notices, including a court summon but the school management refused to comply.

“We are at their premises and the management refused to attend to us; they refused to open their doors despite many calls for them to do so to enable us to enforce the court order.”

Tsavsar expressed concern over the continued refusal by the school’s management to comply with the tax law, adding that the action was simply tax evasion, which he described as a criminal offence.

He added that to worsen the case, the management changed their name to DGIS College to evade tax payments.

“This is also a criminal offence.

“The school has not been paying their taxes at all and also refused to file their annual returns since establishment,” he said.

Tsavsar further warned the affected business owners against any attempt to unseal the premises and advised them to go to the court to obtain a court order before they could do so.

Tsavsar equally warned that FCT-IRS would go after all tax-defaulting companies and individuals, urging taxpayers to comply with existing tax laws, pay their taxes, and file their annual returns.

The Star