Protea Hotel located in Victoria Island, Lagos State has been sealed by the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS.
The hotel was closed on Wednesday by officials of the LIRS after evacuating the occupants.
Protea Hotel was sealed due to its failure to remit N11.07 million personal income taxes deducted from workers’ salaries.
Evasion of N148.88 million consumption and hotel occupancy taxes was another reason why the hotel was sealed.
Mrs Ajibike Oshodi-Sholola, Head, Distrain Unit of LIRS, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, said the hotel broke the seal without LIRS’s consent, payment of the tax liabilities or due resolution of the issue. She explained that the tax liabilities were for 2012 tax audit year.
“Before LIRS gets court order to seal a company, it usually sends at least two letters of notice to the management of the affected firms reminding them of the tax liabilities.
“So, both the demand notice letter and letter of intention to distrain were sent to the management of the hotel, but they failed to act on them,” she said.
Oshodi-Sholola, who led the enforcement team, said that it took the team more than five hours to evacuate the management of the hotel out of the premises.
“It was a difficult task before the management of the hotel, particularly its chairman, accepted to leave the hotel for the team to properly seal it,” she said.
Mr Ajibola Anbisala, the hotel Chairman, denied receiving any notice or letter from LIRS, saying that the team had no authority to just come and seal the hotel.
“We have not received any recent letter from LIRS in respect to the company’s staff personal income tax.
“I am ready to sue LIRS for this insult,” he said.
Additional report: PM News.
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