Shoprite, Spar, Shut Down in Enugu Over Alleged Failure to Pay Tax

• Enugu State Internal Revenue Service closed Shoprite and other shops in the region over tax payment
• It explained that the action became necessary after the affected malls ignored warning notifications
• According to the head of the ESIRS department, the malls will remain closed until issues are resolved

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS) closed ShopRite, Spar, and other grocery locations in Enugu due to allegations that they failed to submit purchase taxes from their malls to the government after receiving many warning notifications.

The Mama Onyinye restaurant and Roban mall, among other places, were also affected after they were warnings, according to ESIRS officers who started the enforcement operation on Tuesday morning.

Read also

Hardship: Looting of food trucks fuels fears of industry collapse amid food shortages

Egwuonwu Perpetual, the head of the ESIRS department responsible for restaurants, bars, hotels, and shopping centres, stated that the agency had visited the closed malls multiple times to obtain proof of purchase tax payment but didn't get a response from them.

She added that the only thing they enforced was the purchase tax on the goods that customers pay each time they visit their stores.

Egwuonwu added that the agency had also begged the affected parties to pay their taxes on time, but they had been uncooperative and had not followed through on these requests yet.

She said:

“It is worthy of note that after we met with the Roban Stores, they displayed our sticker and have complied with remitting their purchase tax to the IRS.

“On the other hand, ShopRite has frustrated all our efforts to get them to do what they need to do. It is always one story or another. Eventually, they promised us that before the end of February, they would do something, but we are in March, and the ESIRS have not heard from them.”

Read also

Economic hardship: Traders lock shops in Kwara, allege unfair taxation

Egwuonwu emphasised that unless the underlying problems were fixed, the malls would stay closed.

Shoprite officially sets date to shut down

Legit.ng reported that Retail giant Shoprite has officially declared the closure of its Kano branch, located in Ado Bayero Mall, Kano State.

The closure is set to take effect from January 14, 2024, as stated through a circular issued and signed by the management of Shoprite.

According to the circular, the decision to close down the Kano branch encompasses the branch's current financial situation and the country's challenging business climate.

Source: Legit.ng