Anambra tax enforcement
The Anambra State Internal Revenue Service, AIRS, has commenced statutory enforcement against individuals, businesses and corporate organisations that failed to regularise their tax obligations before the expiration of the state’s voluntary tax regularisation window.
The latest Anambra tax enforcement exercise follows the September 5 deadline for the Voluntary Assets, Income Declaration and Tax Regularisation Scheme, VAIDS, which gave taxpayers an opportunity to disclose outstanding obligations and regularise their tax affairs under specified concessions.
The Executive Chairman of AIRS, Ikeazor Nnaemeka Okonkwo, disclosed the commencement of enforcement during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Awka.
According to him, the voluntary window has closed and the revenue service has now moved into statutory compliance monitoring and enforcement against taxpayers who remain in default. PPunch Newspapers
Why Anambra Has Started Enforcement
The Anambra tax enforcement exercise is the next stage of a process that began with taxpayer education and the voluntary regularisation scheme.
The VAIDS programme ran from July 6 to September 5, 2026. AIRS said the initiative was designed to give taxpayers who had failed to register, under-declared income or assets, underpaid taxes or accumulated other liabilities an opportunity to put their records in order. Ttax.services.an.gov.ng+1
The scheme covered individuals, businesses and corporate entities with tax obligations to Anambra State.
Among those eligible were taxpayers with outstanding liabilities, taxpayers under audit or investigation, persons involved in disputes with AIRS and taxpayers who had received Best of Judgment assessments but failed to respond within the stipulated period. Ttax.services.an.gov.ng
With that window now closed, AIRS says it has commenced the next phase: Anambra tax enforcement against taxpayers who have not complied with their obligations.
Who Is Being Targeted?
The enforcement exercise is not described as a blanket action against every taxpayer in the state.
AIRS said it would focus on taxpayers who failed to regularise their outstanding liabilities under the VAIDS scheme, those who received Best of Judgment assessments but neither challenged nor settled them within the required period, and those who underpaid, under-remitted or otherwise failed to meet their statutory obligations. PPunch Newspapers
This distinction is important.
Being registered as a taxpayer is not, by itself, evidence of default. The enforcement concerns taxpayers whose records indicate unresolved obligations or other forms of non-compliance.
The current Anambra tax enforcement drive is therefore expected to rely on existing assessments, taxpayer records, notices and other compliance information available to the revenue authority.
AIRS Lists Possible Enforcement Measures
AIRS Chairman Ikeazor Okonkwo said taxpayers who remain non-compliant could face measures provided for under the law.
These include the issuance and service of final statutory Demand Notices, sealing of premises where applicable, recovery of outstanding tax liabilities through lawful procedures, prosecution and court proceedings in cases involving established tax offences. PPunch Newspapers
AIRS has also stressed that enforcement will be carried out through legal and administrative procedures rather than arbitrary action.
A report on the agency’s briefing said Okonkwo ruled out violent enforcement and described the process as one that would be conducted within the law. He also said AIRS was establishing an Alternative Dispute Resolution process for taxpayers with genuine objections to assessments. TTALUKO
That means taxpayers who believe an assessment is incorrect are not necessarily required to accept it without challenge.
Taxpayers With Genuine Objections Can Seek Redress
One of the more significant aspects of the Anambra tax enforcement programme is the distinction between deliberate non-compliance and a legitimate disagreement over an assessment.
AIRS has said taxpayers with valid objections should present them for consideration, while those who accept their liabilities are expected to make the required payments.
The agency has also indicated that an Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism is being established to provide a channel for taxpayers to raise genuine objections and have them considered. TTALUKO
This mechanism could become particularly important where disagreements concern assessments, taxable income, records or the interpretation of a taxpayer’s obligations.
For taxpayers, the practical lesson is straightforward: ignoring an assessment or statutory notice is different from formally challenging it.
https://ogelenews.ng/anambra-tax-enforcement
Low Filing Rate Raises Concern
AIRS has also disclosed a significant compliance gap among registered taxpayers.
According to the agency, about 500,000 individuals were registered under the Anambra State Identification Number system, but only about 10 per cent filed their annual tax returns for the 2025 tax year. AIRS described the low filing rate as a significant compliance problem. TTALUKO
If that figure is maintained across the relevant taxpayer population, it represents a substantial gap between registration and active compliance.
That gap helps explain why Anambra tax enforcement is now being placed alongside taxpayer registration, education and revenue mobilisation as major priorities for the state revenue authority.
AIRS has said it wants to expand the inherited taxpayer database of about 500,000 to one million registered and actively engaged taxpayers.
The objective, according to the agency, is not simply to increase the number of names on the register but to broaden the tax base and ensure that people who earn taxable income meet their obligations.
What Happened Under the VAIDS Scheme?
Before the current Anambra tax enforcement exercise, the state offered taxpayers a limited opportunity to regularise their affairs through VAIDS.
The official AIRS information on the scheme stated that eligible participants could receive reliefs including waivers of accumulated penalties and interest, immunity from prosecution for disclosed tax liabilities, audit protection for the relevant declaration period and the possibility of approved instalment payments. Ttax.services.an.gov.ng
The programme was deliberately time-bound.
Its July 6 to September 5 window has now expired, meaning taxpayers who did not take advantage of the scheme cannot assume that the same concessions remain available.
The change from voluntary regularisation to statutory enforcement is therefore the central development in the latest AIRS announcement.
New Tax Rules Add to the Compliance Pressure
The Anambra tax enforcement drive is also taking place within Nigeria’s broader tax-administration reforms.
The Nigeria Tax Act and Nigeria Tax Administration Act formed part of a wider restructuring of the country’s tax system, with major provisions taking effect from January 1, 2026. The reforms have placed greater emphasis on tax administration, compliance, transparency and revenue mobilisation. TThe Guardian Nigeria
For states, the implication is clear: tax authorities are expected to improve registration, filing, assessment, collection and enforcement while operating within the applicable legal framework.
Anambra’s current approach reflects that broader shift.
What Taxpayers Should Do Now
For individuals and businesses that may have outstanding obligations, the latest Anambra tax enforcement announcement makes one thing particularly important: taxpayers should not ignore official notices.
Those who agree with an established liability should seek to regularise it through the appropriate AIRS channels.
Those who believe an assessment is incorrect should use the available objection or dispute-resolution procedures rather than simply refusing to engage with the revenue authority.
Businesses should also ensure that their tax records, income declarations, payment evidence and other supporting documents are properly maintained.
This is especially important as AIRS moves towards a more systematic compliance regime.
Enforcement and Revenue Mobilisation
For the Anambra government, the broader issue behind the Anambra tax enforcement exercise is domestic revenue mobilisation.
States across Nigeria have increasingly sought to strengthen internally generated revenue as governments face growing demands for infrastructure, healthcare, education, security and other public services.
A more effective tax system can provide government with a more predictable source of revenue, but the credibility of such a system depends on clear rules, accurate assessments, proper taxpayer records and lawful enforcement.
That is why the distinction between compliance monitoring and arbitrary collection is important.
For AIRS, the immediate challenge will be to enforce existing obligations while maintaining the due-process protections available to taxpayers.
The Road Ahead
The commencement of Anambra tax enforcement marks a clear change in the state’s approach to taxpayers who remain in default after the expiration of the VAIDS window.
The period for voluntary regularisation has ended. The revenue authority has now signalled that unresolved liabilities, ignored assessments and other established forms of non-compliance will move into the enforcement stage. PPunch Newspapers+1
For compliant taxpayers, the immediate responsibility is to maintain proper records and continue meeting filing and payment obligations.
For taxpayers with outstanding liabilities, the prudent course is to engage AIRS through the appropriate legal and administrative channels.
And for taxpayers who dispute an assessment, the existence of a formal objection or dispute-resolution route means that disagreement should be documented and pursued through the prescribed process.
The latest Anambra tax enforcement exercise is therefore not merely another revenue announcement. It signals the state’s transition from a period of voluntary regularisation to a more formal compliance regime.
How effectively AIRS balances revenue collection, taxpayer education, due process and lawful enforcement will determine the credibility of the exercise in the months ahead.
Anambra tax enforcement
