The Kano State Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) has sealed the head office of Max Air Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading airlines, over allegations of non-payment of over N190 million in Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and other tax liabilities accrued between 2012 and 2017.
The enforcement action was part of a broader crackdown on tax defaulters in the state. According to Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi, Director of Debt Management and Enforcement at KIRS, the agency resorted to sealing the company’s premises after multiple failed attempts to resolve the matter through dialogue.
“We issued several correspondences to Max Air to settle their tax liabilities, but they failed to respond. As a last resort, we obtained a court order to seal their headquarters in accordance with the law,” Abdullahi explained.
Max Air, owned by Dahiru Barau Mangal, a prominent businessman and in-law to Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) national leader and presidential candidate, is not the only company affected by the state’s enforcement measures.
The KIRS enforcement team also sealed the offices of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company along Zaria Road for defaulting on over N241 million in PAYE and withholding tax liabilities from 2021 to 2022. In addition, Northern Rice and Oil Milling Nigeria Ltd, located in Gunduwawa Industrial Estate, off Hadejia Road, was shut down for similar tax-related offenses.
Abdullahi stressed the importance of compliance, noting that tax payments are crucial for the state’s development.
“Our enforcement team discovered significant discrepancies in the payment of taxes by these companies,” she said. “We were left with no choice but to take these measures to compel them to pay after numerous attempts to address the issue amicably.”
The enforcement exercise, she added, aims to ensure that all businesses operating in Kano State fulfill their tax obligations as stipulated by law.
“This action is not targeted at any individual or company but is part of our mandate to recover outstanding liabilities and improve the state’s internally generated revenue,” Abdullahi stated.
As of the time of this report, representatives of Max Air and the other affected companies were unavailable for comment.
Kano State has been intensifying efforts to recover unpaid taxes as part of its broader strategy to bolster revenue generation and reduce reliance on federal allocations.
