Anambra revenue agency begins enforcement against non-compliant taxpayers

The Anambra State Internal Revenue Service has commenced statutory enforcement against individuals, businesses and corporate organisations that have failed to comply with their tax obligations in the state.

The Executive Chairman of AIRS, Ikeazor Okonkwo, disclosed this on Tuesday during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Awka.

According to Okonkwo, the enforcement followed the expiration of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration and Tax Regularisation Scheme on September 5.

He said the scheme provided taxpayers with an opportunity to regularise their outstanding tax liabilities and benefit from applicable concessions.

“With the expiration of the scheme, the window for voluntary tax regularisation has closed. AIRS has accordingly commenced full statutory compliance monitoring and enforcement actions against non-compliant taxpayers in accordance with applicable tax laws,” Okonkwo said.

He explained that the enforcement would cover taxpayers who failed to regularise outstanding liabilities under the VAIDS scheme, those who received Best of Judgment assessments but neither challenged nor settled them within the required period, as well as those who underpaid, under-remitted or otherwise failed to meet their statutory obligations.

Okonkwo warned that defaulters could face measures provided for under the law.

“Non-compliant taxpayers may be subject to enforcement measures prescribed by law, including issuance and service of final statutory Demand Notices and sealing, where applicable, recovery of outstanding tax liabilities through lawful enforcement measures, and prosecution and commencement of court proceedings in respect of established tax offences,” he said.

He urged affected taxpayers to take advantage of what he described as the final opportunity to regularise their tax affairs.

“All affected taxpayers are therefore advised to take immediate steps to regularise their outstanding tax obligations and ensure full compliance with the applicable tax laws,” he added.

The AIRS chairman disclosed that about 500,000 taxpayers had already been registered in the state’s database, with the agency targeting an additional 500,000 to bring the number to one million.

He said the enforcement process would be driven largely by digital systems to minimise physical contact between tax officials and taxpayers.

According to him, the agency had embarked on extensive public sensitisation before commencing enforcement, using the media, jingles, announcements in churches and markets, as well as public address systems.

Okonkwo also disclosed that AIRS was establishing an alternative dispute resolution mechanism to address legitimate complaints from taxpayers who dispute their assessments.

“We are also setting up an alternative dispute resolution and mechanism so that if there are any genuine objections that any taxpayer has, he can come up and the issue will be addressed,” he said.

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He stressed that the agency would pursue outstanding tax obligations within the confines of the law while encouraging taxpayers who were already compliant to maintain their status.

“But one thing that is clear is that AIRS under the leadership, is going through a process where we will lawfully go after all the people who have not regularised their tax affairs. Those who are already compliant, they should keep it up,” Okonkwo said.

He said taxpayers who had received assessments, demand notices or Best of Judgment assessments still had an opportunity to regularise their affairs, particularly where they had valid objections.

“As it stands now, the agency under my operational control is targeting one million taxpayers in addition to the already existing 500,000 taxpayers in the state,” he said.

Okonkwo said the agency had compiled a list of taxpayers who had failed to comply and was working with legal advisers on the appropriate enforcement procedures.

He outlined four options available to taxpayers: those already compliant should remain compliant; those with valid objections to assessments could present their cases for consideration; taxpayers without valid objections should make the required payments; while all other outstanding obligations should be regularised in accordance with the law.

He said the broader objective of the exercise was to improve the culture of tax compliance in the state.

“Essentially, what we are trying to do is change the culture of tax compliance. A culture that has taken several years to develop will take some time to dismantle, if I may use that word. Every citizen is expected to file tax returns,” he said.

Okonkwo explained that taxpayers were required to declare their income from various sources, including salaries, rental income, investments and other businesses, before making the appropriate tax payments.

He said AIRS spent its first six months focusing on taxpayer education and engagement, while also analysing available data to identify areas of significant non-compliance.

“As a tax authority, our first six months were focused on education, engagement and helping taxpayers understand the process. We also used certain data points to identify significant areas of non-compliance and people who had blatantly refused to pay their taxes,” he added.

For enquiries and verification, taxpayers were advised to visit the AIRS website at tax.services.an.gov.ng or contact the agency through [email protected] and [email protected].

They can also reach the customer service lines on 07066727750, 09053234816, 08083066051 and 08178070000.

The enforcement comes as state tax authorities across Nigeria continue to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and improve taxpayer registration and compliance.

In Anambra, AIRS has been expanding its taxpayer database and using digital systems to improve the identification of taxable persons and businesses.