Rivers IRS Shuts NDDC Over Tax Evasion

Officials of the Rivers State Internal Revenue Service (RIRS), yesterday barricaded the main entrance gate of the corporate headquarters of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Port Harcourt, grounding the operations of the commission.
The Tide gathered that the action, which took several ours, was a follow up on a demand notice by RIRS, earlier served to the authorities of NDDC, demand outstanding withholding taxes, yet to be remitted to the Rivers State Government. Head of the State Internal Revenue Service Enforcement Team, Mr Manson Endeboh who spoke with newsmen during the action, disclosed that the authorities of the NDDC had remained impregnable over the tax default.
He said: “We were here yesterday to demand withholding taxes deducted by NDDC from vendors and consultants without remittance to the Rivers State Government, but officials of the Department of State Security and other security personnels, prevailed on us. Unfortunately, the authorities of the NDDC have refused to pay the taxes, despite the claims that approval has been made”.
Endeboh further regretted the fact that the NDDC management has refused to open their books to know the exact amount owed which he said accrue to “hundreds of millions of naira”.
He explained that NDDC vendors came to the RIRS office to demand credit notes, on the assumption that the withholding and personal income taxes have been remitted to the Rivers State Government but regretted that the taxes were still outstanding, there years after.
He dismissed insinuations that the action will lead to a collision between Rivers State and the Federal Government, and urged the authorities of NDDC not to use such notions as a rue to cover up their tax default.
“This has nothing to do with Federal Government, we have a responsibility as tax collectors to demand what is due the Rivers State Government. The NDDC should keep to their words and stop making unfulfilled promises.”
He said the action will continue until NDDC comply accordingly.
Effort to get the reaction of the NDDC authorites on the issue was however fruitless, as there was no response to the several calls put across to the public affairs unit.

Taneh Beemene