By Ahmed Ibrahim

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has arrested top officials of Sweet Sensation, UTC and Pivotal Engineering in Lagos for alleged failure to remit taxes totally N2.17 billion.

The arrest were made during an  enforcement drive led by an Assistant Director of Legal and Prosecution Department of the Service, Mr. Abu Stephen.

Speaking to journalists, Stephen said that the enforcement drive aimed at recovering arrears of taxes accruing to government from Company Income Tax (CIT), Education Tax (EDT), Withholding Tax (WHT) and Value Added Tax (VAT).

He said prior to the exercise, the Service had served series of notice on the companies, including four others to pay their outstanding tax liability or being compiled to do so.

He said that Pivot Engineering owes N609.911 million while Reliance Telecommunications is owing N592.756 million.  HITV Ltd, he said is owing N309.500 million  while UTC Nigeria Plc is owing N277.589 million.

Others include Sweet Sensation Confectionary Ltd, N155, 483,013:00, Entertainment Highway Ltd, N197, 444,964:55 and John Holt Nig. Ltd, N33, 073,487:52.

During the exercise,  some of the companies  admitted their outstanding tax liability when the enforcement team called at their offices.

For instance, Mr. Opedemowo Olayemi, the Chief Accountant of Sweet Sensation Confectionary Ltd, said the company was owing to the tone of N60 million for VAT alone.

Also, Mr. Dada Arokoyu of UTC and Mr. Muyiwa Fojude of Pivot agreed that their companies had outstanding tax liability to settle with the FIRS.

Similarly, when the team visited HITV Ltd, Entertainment Highway Ltd and Reliance Communications Ltd, their offices were under lock and key, but security at the gates attended to the enforcement team.

At HITV and Entertainment the team was told that the GTBank sealed up the premises following a court order, while at the Reliance Communication on the directive of the Chairman of the company.

Stephen said, “ The arrest is a warning to other organisations and individuals in the country on the need to ensure deductions and remittance of their tax obligation as provided by the FIRS Establishment Act 2007.

“Any person who being obliged to deduct any tax under this act or the laws listed in the First Schedule to this Act, but fails to deduct, or having deducted, fails to pay to the Service within 30 days from the date the amount was deducted or the time the duty to deduct arose, commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to pay the tax withheld or not remitted in addition to a penalty of 10 per cent of the tax withheld or not remitted per annum and interest at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria minimum re-discount rate and imprisonment for period of not more than three years,” the section stated.