The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) on Tuesday sealed five banks and other business premises within the Kaduna metropolis for a ‘Land Use Charge (LUC) debt’ of N1.7 billion

It has also sealed the prominent Hamdala Hotel for a N115 million debt on LUC.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the banks and other businesses sealed were Keystone Bank Plc, Unity Bank, FCMB, Zenith Bank, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), as well as Chicken Republic, all located along Yakubu Gowon Way.

Others were: Forte Oil, New Nigeria Development Company, GT Bank parking lot and the A.G. Leventis building.

Speaking to newsmen on the development, Aysha Ahmad, Board Secretary and Legal Adviser, KADIRS, explained that the enforcement exercise was based on the provisions of the law.

Ahmad said that the enforcement was in the exercise of powers vested in KADIRS by Section 104 of the Personal Income Tax Act.

She said that the exercise was also backed by Section 24 Sub-Sections (1, 2 and 3) of the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020, as amended.

Ahmad said that the accumulated land-based revenue (LUC) liabilities were established by the Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS) .

She added that the service had sent demand notices to the businesses, which did not yield positive responses or compliance.

“So, we have to resort to enforcement to collect what is due for the state,” she said.

The KADIRS board secretary disclosed that the exercise would be a week-long one.

She added, ”A court order for the immediate closure and taking over of the entire properties until all unpaid land-based revenue liabilities are settled had been secured.”

Ahmad called on tax payers to comply voluntarily, stressing that the service would go round the major cities across the state to ensure compliance. (The Guardian)