The Federal Capital Territory FCT Administration on Thursday made good its threat to seal establishments in the territory who have defaulted in their tax obligations.

The exercise which was carried out by FCT Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS), led to the sealing of a hotel, a school and three business premises in the nation’s capital.

Acting Director, Legal Services, at the FCT-IRS, Festus Tsavsar, who led the team, explained that the closure of the premises was in line with a Court Order obtained by the IRS.

The establishments sealed were Regency Hotel, Gratias International School, Rural and Urban Homes Ltd, Trevari International Company and Phenomenon International Company.

Tsavsar said the hotel and business premises contravened FCT Tax Laws by refusing to file their annual returns, despite issuing several notices, including court summons.   

He said; “Today, we went out to execute the Court Order, which ordered the FCT-IRS to seal off the premises of defaulting taxpayers that were brought before it.

“We have been able to effectively comply with the court order by sealing off the premises as directed.

“We went to Gratias International School located in Games Village, Kaura, and sealed it off. The offence they committed was refusal to file their annual returns despite many notices, including a Court Summon but the school management refused to comply.

“We were at their premises and the management refused to attend to us; and refused to open their doors, despite many calls for them to do so to enable us to enforce the court order”.

He expressed concern over the continued refusal by the school management to comply with the tax law, adding that the action was tax evasion, a criminal offence.

He added that to worsen the case, the management had changed their name to DGIS College to evade tax payment.

“This is also a criminal offence. The school has not been paying their taxes at all, and also refused to file their annual returns since establishment,” he said. 

From the school, the team proceeded to Residency Hotels, No. 4, Port Harcourt Crescent, Area II, Garki, where it was also sealed for not filing annual returns.

“From there we went to seal off Rural Urban Homes ltd in Utako and two business premises residing in Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, namely Trevari International Company and Phenomenon International Company,” he said.

He warned the affected business owners against any attempt to unseal the premises and advised them to go to the court to obtain a court order before they could do so.

“If they go against the Court Order and unseal the premises by themselves, they have committed a criminal offence, and the court will order their arrest.

“They will be prosecuted in line with the Tax Laws, particularly Section 81 of Personal Income Tax Law and upon conviction they will be jailed for six months in addition to a fine,” he added. 

Tsavsar equally warned that FCT-IRS would go after other tax defaulting entities, urging them to comply with the laws before tgw enforcement team reaches their doorsteps.