Delta State Government has frowned at the activities of some unscrupulous members of the public who masquerade themselves as Community Development Agents and are issuing revenue demand notices to companies operating in their communities for the purposes of collecting fees and levies from them.
A statement signed by the Director of Information, Mr Paul Osahor stated that for the avoidance of doubt, the Local Government Councils are the only organs authorized by law to collect taxes and other levies as encapsulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the State Internal Revenue Consolidation Law of 2009. By these provisions, no individual or group of individuals is mandated to demand or collect ANY kind of tax, fees or levies from individuals or organizations operating in their Communities.
The statement further stated that the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue, the statutory revenue collector of Government was the only agency empowered to endorse demand notices for all state taxes, levies, fees, etc.
It said that members of the public and organizations should not deal with any person or persons who serve demand notices concerning State Taxes, Levies, Fees, etc not emanating from and signed by the Chairman, Delta State Board of Internal Revenue or the State Commissioner for Finance.
The statement advised persons and groups involved in the illegal collections to desist from such acts, as any persons caught in this illegal act would be prosecuted according to the law.