The Kaduna State government on Tuesday sealed five banks and other business premises in the state over a “Land Use Charge debt” of N1.7 billion
It also sealed the prominent Hamdala Hotel over a N115 million debt.
The affected banks and businesses were – Keystone Bank Plc, Unity Bank, FCMB, Zenith Bank, Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and Chicken Republic, all located along Yakubu Gowon Way in the Kaduna Metropolis.
Others were – Forte Oil, New Nigeria Development Company, GT Bank parking lot and A.G. Leventis building.
In a chat with journalists the Board Secretary and Legal Adviser for the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS), Aysha Ahmad, said the enforcement exercise was in line with the powers vested in the agency by Section 104 of the Personal Income Tax Act.
She added that the exercise was backed by Section 24 Sub-Sections (1,2 and 3) of the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020 as amended.
Ahmad said the accumulated land-based revenue (LUC) liabilities were established by the Kaduna State Geographic Information Service (KADGIS) .
According to her, KADIRS had sent notices to the businesses without positive responses or compliance.
She said: “So, we have to resort to enforcement to collect what is due for the state.
“A court order for the immediate closure and taking over of the entire properties until all unpaid land-based revenue liabilities are settled had been secured.”