Delta State of Nigeria Internal Revenue (miscellaneous Provisions) Law

DELTA STATE OF NIGERIA INTERNAL REVENUE (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) LAW

1. Citation. This Law may be cited as the Delta State of Nigeria Internal Revenue (Miscellaneous Provisions) Law.

2. Interpretation In this Law- "appropriate authority" means the Commissioner of the State Government for the time being charged with ultimate responsibility for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; "Board ofInternal Revenue" means the State Board of Internal Revenue established under section 33A of the Income Tax Management Act; "Governor" means the Governor of Delta State; "State" means the Delta State of Nigeria.

3. Power of' the appropriate authority to appoint persons or body of persons before the constitution of the Board of Internal. Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, or regulation to the contrary, the appropriate authority shall have power subject to the approval of the Governor before a Board of Internal Revenue established for the State is constituted, to appoint any person or body of persons whether corporate or incorporate in concert with the officers for the time being constituted to carry out the functions of the Board of Internal Revenue to perform the duties or functions, to be performed or assigned to the State Board of Internal Revenue and the officers thereof in matter of the generation and collection of the Internal Revenue of the State and for the purposes, the person or persons so appointed shall have power to advise the appropriate authority as to the structure, incidence and administration and collection of the rates, taxes, levies and fees or charges imposed by this Law or any other law having force or effect in the State.

4. Powers of persons or body of-persons appointed. The person or persons so appointed shall have power to enforce compliance with the provisions of this Law or by the use of a task force set up for the purpose and in particular, may seal off the premises of any defaulter to compel compliance.

5. Offences and penalty. Without any prejudice to the power of the person or body of persons appointed under this Law to enforce compliance as specified in section 4, it shall be an offence punishable by a fine not exceeding 10 times the amount in which he is in default or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both for any person to refuse to comply with any demand notice duly served on him under or pursuant to this Law or for any person without any lawful justification or excuse, the proof hereof shall lie on him whoso refused to pay any levy, rate, fee charge or demand due from him made by under this or any other law touching on the Revenue of the State.

6. Obstructing of payment. It shall also be an offence punishable with a fine of twenty thousand naira or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both for any person to willfully obstruct, resist, unlawfully assault or manhandle any person or body of persons appointed pursuant to this Law or their servants or agents in the course of the performance of their duties under this Law.