The Nasarawa State Internal Revenue Service has shut all the branches of Diamond Bank and First City Monument Bank across the state for concealing documents containing information about their customers.
Consequently, customers of the two banks in Lafia, the state capital, became stranded when they went to transact business with the banks as stern-looking policemen drafted to the gates of the banks stopped them from entering into their premises.
When our correspondent visited the premises of the sealed banks along Jos road, Lafia, there were notices pasted at the gates, which read, “This bank Is Hereby Sealed Off Today Being 6th September, 2017 Under The Authority of The Nasarawa State Government In Pursuance To Section 104 Of The Personal Income Tax (PITA) As Amended. Signed: Management.”
Addressing journalists at the NSIRS headquarters in Lafia, the Acting Chairman of the revenue service, Usman Okposhi, said that “the question is not about money but non-compliance to give us the chance
to download information about their customers like statement of accounts and other relevant documents about the accounts.”
According to him, “The revenue service had asked all banks in the state to submit information about their customers, some complied and others failed to comply. Four banks; Zenith, United Bank for Africa
(UBA), FCMB and Diamond Bank were asked to give their customers’ information about three weeks ago, but it was only Zenith and UBA that complied and allowed our consultants in their banks.
“The other two banks, Diamond and FCMB approached us lately that they will comply when the court had already given an order that the two banks be sealed.”
Okposhi added that the reason for the demand of such information from the banks was because customers pay taxes.
“If customers pay taxes, how much did they pay?. Have you remitted their taxes to the relevant tax body? That is what we want. So, what we want is, let us get information first. If we get the information, we shall go into them one by one and download the information and give you the result. If we give you the result and you dispute it, you can be allowed to put objection with a document then we will resolve,” he explained.
Okposhi, however, appealed to the affected banks’ customers to be patient, adding that those with ATM cards should go to other banks for their withdrawals.
He stated that what the revenue service was doing was not restricted to banks alone.
“We are going to other companies and schools, too,” he said.
