BREAKING NEWS: 9mobile office shut over illegal revenue drive, ALTON berates Rivers State - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has decried the illegal revenue generating drives by the officials of the Rivers State Inland Revenue Service (RIRS) which lead to the shutting of a regional office and hub site of one of its members, the 9mobile, reports ITRealms.

The shutdown, ALTON said has been shut down for the past three weeks because of illegal demand notice, since June 26, 2018.

ALTON in a letter to the chairman, Rivers State Inland Revenue Service condemning what it termed as “over zealousness in their illegal revenue generating drives in the State” as surprising.

“We understand that the sealing of EMTS Premises is to compel the collection of alleged tax liability in the subject amount, which represents its disputed outstanding tax liability arising from Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) of expatriates, erroneously believed by the RIRS to be subject to tax within the Rivers State,” ALTON chairman, Gbenga Adebayo said.

ALTON insisted that PAYE obligations are to states in which the employees reside, and EMTS did not have any expatriate(s) on its payroll who reside in Rivers State within the assessment period, EMTS is clearly not indebted to the Government of Rivers State for the alleged tax.

EMTS, ALTON pointed, had, at several meetings and by various correspondence explained and maintained that it is not indebted to the Government of Rivers State as alleged by the RIRS, as it has never had expatriate employees working or residing in the state, and provided relevant documents in support of its position. 

Therefore, ALTON categorically reiterated that EMTS is not indebted to the Government of Rivers State and that the sealing of EMTS’ Premises is illegal, especially as it was carried out without a court order and without adherence to the due process of law.

“The conduct of the RIRS in this regard, apart from being a clear contravention of the law, goes against the efforts of Government at improving Nigeria’s position on the global Ease of Doing Business index, to encourage foreign investment. Also by applying self-help remedies especially in a situation where the claim is erroneous, the RIRS has portrayed the State in very bad light as unfriendly and not welcoming of investors,” ALTON maintained.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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