Enugu Hotel Owners Cry Out as Government Shuts Nearly 100 Facilities Over ‘Double Taxation’ Dispute

Enugu Hotel Owners Cry Out as Government Shuts Nearly 100 Facilities Over ‘Double Taxation’ Dispute

Tension is rising in Enugu State as the government, through the Enugu State Board of Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), has sealed off nearly 100 hotel premises over alleged non-payment of Purchase Tax and other related levies.

The enforcement, which began earlier this week, has thrown the state’s hospitality sector into confusion, with hotel owners accusing the government of “double taxation” and unlawful clampdown despite a pending court case.

The Incorporated Trustees of Coal City Hotel Owners Welfare Association (ITCCHOWA) confirmed the development, describing it as “harsh, embarrassing, and unlawful.”

Speaking on behalf of the association, their counsel, Barr. Chijioke Darlington Ezeh, said the government’s actions contradict the rule of law, given that the matter is already before the Federal High Court.

 “We have approached the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/E/CS/308/2025 to interpret relevant provisions of the law on Purchase Tax,” Ezeh explained. “The court has exclusive jurisdiction over taxation matters, and since the case is pending, it is wrong for the state to take any enforcement action that could prejudice the suit.”

According to Ezeh, the Enugu State Finance Law empowers the state’s Internal Revenue Service to collect taxes on consumables — the same tax already covered under the federal VAT law — which amounts to double taxation.

> “We have served all necessary parties,” he said. “Yet, to our greatest surprise, the government began sealing hotels, claiming there was a court order we were never served. Our clients are law-abiding business owners who have continued to pay all legitimate levies, but this particular one is being challenged in court.”

The Chairman of ITCCHOWA, Dr. Johnson Ugwuoke, expressed deep frustration, saying the government’s approach is crippling businesses and tarnishing Enugu’s image before investors and tourists.

> “We are not tax evaders,” Ugwuoke said. “We are the second largest employers of labour in the state after government. But what we are facing now is excessive and discouraging. Some of our hotels were sealed while guests — including foreign visitors — were still inside. That’s unacceptable.”

He urged the Enugu State Government to review its enforcement tactics and allow the court process to run its course, warning that the current standoff could severely damage the state’s hospitality industry.

As of press time, officials of the Enugu State Board of Internal Revenue Service had not issued any public statement addressing the hotel owners’ grievances.