The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has threatened to shut operations of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over tax evasion Offences.
This was disclosed by the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler while responding to issues raised by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating oil swap agreements entered by the NNPC in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the NNPC was evading tax through its subsidiary company, Duke Oil Limited.
Fowler told members of the committee that FIRS was not even aware of the existence of the company until the invitation by the committee was extended to them.
According to him, the FIRS has the constitutional powers to shut operations of any government agency over tax evasion the Offences.
He said the laws also allow the FIRS to ensure that the erring agencies remain shut until all outstanding taxes were paid and to report them to Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.