The Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue has given reasons why it sealed offices of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) over a tax default in excess of N400 million.
The Board, in a statement by its Chairman, Femi Awakan, said that the state government duly obtained a distraining order of the Oyo State High Court before sealing some of the offices of the distribution company.
Some of the offices affected include the company’s headquarters in Ring Road, Ibadan and its offices at Mobil, off Ring Road, Dugbe, Ojoo/Iwo Road office as well as Monatan, all in Ibadan.
The state government had applied for the warrant to enforce the payment through suit No. M/122/2022, which has the Governor of Oyo State, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Board of Internal Revenue Service of Oyo State as applicants, while IBEDC is the respondent.
According to the statement, the state government had, in line with its avowed commitment to the observance of the rule of law, filed an application before Justice O.M Olagunju, seeking the issuance of a warrant authorising its officers to “distrain upon any land, premises or places of which the respondent (IBEDC) is the owner.”
The court order is to enable the state government to enforce the payment of arrears of taxes to the tune of N400,546,111,41k, being taxes accumulated by the IBEDC in respect of Harmonised bills, Infrastructure bills, Tax Audit bills and Signage bills, and which the company has failed to pay in the last two years.
A breakdown of the bills is shown as follows:
· Harmonised Bill- N139.440,000.00
· Infrastructure Bills-N122.590,000.00
· Tax Audit Bills- N116,516,111.41
· Signage Bills- N22,000,000.00
“It is to be noted that the IBEDC has a statutory obligation to deduct and remit revenue bills to the government of Oyo State through the Board of Internal Revenue.
Meanwhile, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company had earlier indicted the Oyo state government of owing the company a sum of four hundred and fifty million naira within a period of three years.
The company also described the sealing of thief outlets as a retaliatory action against the disconnection of the State Secretariat from power.
