The Cross River Internal Revenue Service, IRS, has issued a warning to the University of Calabar, UniCal, about potential legal action if it fails to address its tax remittance issues.
This announcement was made by Mr. Ayi Okon, the Director of Compliance at Cross River IRS, during an official sticker campaign aimed at highlighting the university’s non-compliance on its premises in Calabar.
Okon, who led a team of IRS officials in the initiative, disclosed that a thorough audit conducted from 2018 to 2022 uncovered a staggering N3.7 billion in unpaid taxes. This amount was communicated to UniCal through an assessment notice. However, the university reportedly did not respond within the designated timeframe.
After sending a follow-up demand notice in April 2024 without a reply, the IRS issued a final demand notice in May. When the university still failed to respond, a pre-action notice prompted a written response from UniCal.
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Following this, the IRS arranged several reconciliation meetings with the university, during which commitments to resolve the issue were made, yet none have been fulfilled to date. Okon emphasized the negative impact of the university’s tax withholding on the state’s developmental projects, urging UniCal to take immediate action.
If the university does not comply within 14 days, the IRS plans to escalate the matter through legal channels. Mr. Emmanuel Esira, the Director of Legal Services and Enforcement at Cross River IRS, confirmed that all legal procedures have been followed, justifying the placement of the non-compliance stickers. He reiterated that the IRS’s actions are intended to motivate the university to fulfill its tax obligations and avoid further legal repercussions.
University of Calabar grew out of the Calabar campus of University of Nigeria, Nigeria which began functioning during the 1973 academic session with 154 students and a small cadre of academic, administration and professional staff.
In April 1975, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria announced that as part of the National Development Plan, seven new Universities were to be established at various locations in the country. The University of Calabar was one of the seven Universities set up under this program.
Located in Calabar Municipal, an ancient city with a long tradition of culture and contact with western civilization, the already developed area of the University occupies a 17-hectare site on the eastern side of the town, between the Great Qua River and the Calabar River.
Academic activities actually commenced in the 1973/74 session, in what was then a Campus of the University Of Nigeria, Nsukka.
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