Fraud and Illegalities Rock Delta State Revenue System

*Use of revenue consultants is illegal…..Attorney General

It was a harvest and unearthing of massive corrupt sharp practices bedeviling the Delta State internally generated Revenue system as well as unveiling of sky rocketing illegal practices within the Delta State Revenue Court in unhealthy partnership with some government ministries, agencies and departments, recently at the seminar for newly inducted revenue court judges at Asaba.

The Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ajuyah C.A (SAN) at a press briefing announced that the state government and his ministry has un-earthed volumes of unhealthy sharp practices happening within the state’s revenue system.

Unscrupulous persons purporting to “consultants” have taken advantage of rule 4 of the first schedule of the revenue court law to massively defraud the state government of revenue as well as extort money from unsuspecting business owners.

The rule which provides that “ a claim to be commenced by a public officer or an appointed consultant of the department of government owed filling form A in the second schedule, or a public officer or such consultant slating the claims in the presence of the defendant in open court”.

An embittered Attorney General further unveiled the past abuse the Act has endured , “neither the revenue consolidated law nor the revenue court Act nor the Act on approved list of taxes for the different ties of government recognized the use of consultants for the collection or enforcement of the revenue laws. 

Citing sections 3, 4 and 7 of the internal revenue consolidated revenue laws, the visibly angry Commissioner for Justice, reminded the newly inducted revenue court judges that they have a duty to discourage such corrupt practices, stating that the locus standing to commence action in the name of the state government on revenue matters is vested in the board of revenue and the office of the Attorney General of the state and no other.

I must emphasize again and again that no revenue consultant is entitled to commence any action for or on behalf of the state government, Ajuya told Asaba Post News-Wire.

The provision of the law spelling out powers of the board on assessment and collection of revenue are not ambiguous, it is clear that the board shall not delegate the powers, the administration and enforcement of tax and revenue for the state is the responsibility of the board of internal revenue and not consultants, the Attorney General emphasized.

Asaba Post News-Wire asked if there are official recorded criminal offences so far, the commissioner made it clear that to us that, it is a criminal offence for any person who is not a revenue collector to pose as such and attempts or collects any revenue due the government, any found guilty under this section is liable to a fine of N50,000 or 3 years imprisonment or both.

It is also criminal for any person appointed for the due administration of this law or employed in connection with the assessment and collection of taxes to demand for gratification, charge excess amount of the authorized tax or withhold for his own use any portion of tax collected, also guilty are those who defrauds, embezzles any amount or uses their position to deal wrongly or compromises on the assessment and collection of any tax due the government.

Stressing on the attendant consequences of engaging corrupt consultants, Ajuya said, no consultant is allowed to take out any summons in the name of any ministry, department or agency, such action by persons who are not government officials are not only scandalous but embarrassing to the state government, it has potential of ridiculing the judiciary particularly when such cases are determined and judgment enforced.

When we asked if there is nothing he and the law can do to save Deltans the agony of corrupt consultants, the Attorney General responded thus: in line with my constitutional responsibility as Attorney General, I have assigned legal officers to the board of internal revenue and by extension to each of the revenue courts with a firm directive that only claims signed by legal officers must be entertained, those not signed by legal officers must be discontinued forthwith.

We asked if there are past cases of sharp practices reported to his office he is aware of with proofs, in his response, he shared how a recent case of an unscheduled visit to a revenue court exposed first hand unto him how some fraudulent persons filed illegal claims in the name of Delta State Government, its ministries and agencies.

The height of corruption and illegality in Delta State revenue collection system was reached when attempts made by some committed and hard working legal officers to withdraw or discontinue such cases were met with stiff resistance from the courts, what a judicial tsunami against justice, good governance, democracy and sustainable development of Delta State.

Ajuyah told Asaba Post News-Wire that his office’s field supervision spotted a case where claims were initiated in the name of the Delta State ministry of transport by persons who are not legal officers and are not known by the ministry of transport, claiming various sums of money ranging from hundreds to millions of Naira on the very bogus premises “for National road traffic regulation, 2010 and taxes and levy Acts, Cap T2, 2004, the Attorney General’s open rhetoric query “can anyone tell me the legal basis for this cause” expressed how worried he is about tax administration and revenue justice in Delta State.

I am aware of a claim arising from a revenue court in Delta State Where a company was sued in the name of the state government in a very bizarre circumstance and obtained judgment with no evidence, this led the debtor  to counter sue the government claiming for the return of the judgment sum and damages, Ajuyah  pointed out.

As I speak, the claimant in the revenue court cannot now be identified and the enforced judgment sum has not turned over to the state government’s coffers, Ajuyah told Asaba Post News-wire.

The Attorney General appealed to the revenue court judges to save both the state and the judiciary  the shame of public ridicule and to use their position to discourage and possibly avoid the drain of revenue due the state.