Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS) has sealed the Enugu outlets of ShopRite, Spar and other supermarkets over alleged failure to remit purchase tax in their malls to the government after being served several warning notices.
According to the ESIRS officials who embarked on the enforcement drive on Tuesday other malls including Roban, Mama Onyinye restaurant among others have also been warned.
The ESIRS Head of Department of eateries, bars, hotels and shopping malls, Egwuonwu Perpetual said the agency visited the sealed malls on several occasions to request for evidence of payment of the purchase tax but they failed to remit.
She said the purchase tax on the goods that the buyers pay whenever they patronise their outlets was the only thing they were enforcing.
Egwuonwu added that they had also pleaded with the concerned individuals to be remitting their taxes as at when due but “they have been recalcitrant and till now they have not done anything concerning these instructions.
“It is worthy of note that after we met with the Roban Stores, they displayed our sticker and have complied with remitting their purchase tax to the IRS.
“On the other hand, ShopRite has frustrated all our efforts to get them to do the needful.
It is always one story or another. Eventually they promised us that before the end of February, they would do something but we are in March and the ESIRS have not heard from them,” she said.
Egwuonwu stressed that the malls would remain closed until the issues at hand were resolved