The Federal Inland Revenue Service on Wednesday sealed the premises of four companies in Port Harcourt and Lagos over tax debts of about N700m.

In Port Harcourt, the FIRS enforcement team shut down the premises of SC Industrial Gas Manufacturers Limited, situated at 61 Aba Road. The company was sealed for its alleged failure to remit Value Added Tax of N425,530,587.00 collected on behalf of the government between 2014 and 2017.

In Lagos, the agency sealed the office of ABB Nigeria Limited on Metalbox Road, Ogba. The company allegedly owes N125.164m, a claim its administrative manager disputed.

The leader of the FIRS team, Mrs. Ruth Madeun, however, stated that if the company had no outstanding tax obligation, her team would not have been at the premises.

Also affected are Great Bakis Limited, which reportedly owes N38.458m; Boluke Pharmacy in the Agege area of Lagos, N62.239m; and Resort Savings and Loans Plc, which allegedly has a tax debt of N74.8m.

In a similar vein, a multi-billion naira company, African Textile Management Limited, was among the four firms that were sealed up by the FIRS in Kano for non-payment of tax liabilities totalling N130,567,230.88 during an enforcement exercise carried out on Tuesday.

Others affected firms were Dumma Company Limited, situated at the NNPC Depot, Hotoro Quarters, which allegedly owed N24,415,762.88 in Company Income Tax; Dennis Auto Supply Company Limited, with a tax debt of N62,628,604.68; and A.Y and B Nigeria Limited, a construction firm in Abuja with a branch office in Kano, which allegedly was indebted to the tune of N29,962,982.32.

In Port Harcourt, the FIRS enforcement team sealed the premises of Halden Nigeria Limited, located in Trans-Amadi Layout; Steve Integrated Technical Services Limited, Oil Field Services, Engineering and Equipment Leasing and Stemco Limited at Woji Road, GRA.