{
  "id": 17306112,
  "title": "Edo seals nine Chinese firms over unpaid taxes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/edo-seals-nine-chinese-firms-over-unpaid-taxes",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T23:46:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/edo-seals-nine-chinese-firms-over-unpaid-taxes/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nine Chinese-owned companies in Utesi Community, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, had their industrial premises sealed by the Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) due to unpaid tax liabilities amounting to N8.9bn. The EIRS accused the companies of not registering their employees for Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax, filing annual employers' tax returns, and deducting and remitting PAYE taxes. Courage Eboigbe, Head of Corporate Communications and Taxpayers Enlightenment Service at EIRS, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, noting that the companies were formally informed of their tax liabilities before the enforcement action. Despite multiple reminders and demands for compliance, the companies failed to settle their outstanding obligations, leading to the court-ordered sealing of their premises. Eboigbe stated that the enforcement orders would remain in effect, and the seals would only be lifted once all outstanding tax liabilities were paid by the defaulting companies.",
  "summary": "The Edo State Internal Revenue Service has sealed nine Chinese-owned firms in Ikpoba-Okha LGA over alleged unpaid tax liabilities totalling N8.9bn. Read More: https://punchng.com/edo-seals-nine-chinese-firms-over-unpaid-taxes/",
  "key_points": [
    "Edo State IRS seals nine Chinese firms over N8.9bn unpaid taxes",
    "Seals remain until defaulting firms pay all outstanding tax liabilities"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Aggressive enforcement by the Edo State Internal Revenue Service signals a tightening grip on foreign-owned entities to ensure compliance with employee tax registration and mandatory annual remittance obligations.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}