The Executive Chairman of Edo State Internal Revenue Service (EIRS) Chief Sir Oseni Elamah has said he remains resolute to taking the state’s revenue system to greater heights.
Chief Elamah stated this in Benin City during a two-day induction/orientation workshop for staff of EIRS.
The EIRS boss disclosed that the EIRS stands out positively out of the 36 state of the federation in terms of revenue administration, asserting that the agency has been able to build internal capacity to carry out certain obligations which consultants are performing for other states.
Chief Elamah said the agency has been transformed such that transactions are carried out on the basis of transparency, integrity, innovation, honesty and value for tax payers’ money which are the core values of the EIRS.
He further stated that the standard of living in any society would not be guaranteed if the social infrastructures were not present, citing the Comrade Governor’s agenda of People, Infrastructure, Education and Employment which is premised on his philosophy of a people participatory and result oriented governance as germane for the state.
To achieve this, he said the agency imbibes the culture of fairness, equity and justice in the course of discharging its responsibilities.
Speaking on expectations of the agency, the Secretary to the Revenue Service, Vera Obadan, said the agency would ensure that staff are given a sense of belonging as a team force.
Mrs. Obadan said the EIRS has been positively designed such that it would guarantee positive employment relationship between management and staff.
She reiterated the agency’s commitment to the importance of human capital development, asserting that it becomes imperative for the agency to continually appreciate the staff since human capital development remains a critical success factor of the revenue system, while stating that the EIRS provides better welfare scheme for staff, including medical services and expressed hope that the induction exercise would yield the required expectations from staff.
Speaking on the overview of the EIRS Legal reform, Executive Director EIRS, Emmanuel Usoh Esq. said the revenue agency was premised on the Edo State Revenue Administration Law signed into law in 2012.
Barrister Usoh said that with the revenue law, the agency was transformed from the Board of Internal Revenue to a Service oriented agency headed by an Executive Chairman and Executive Directors representing the three senatorial districts of the state.
He disclosed that Section 22 to 24 of Edo State Revenue Administration Law provides for the constitution of a Joint Revenue Committee (JRC) comprised of members of the agency and chairmen of the 18 Local Government Areas across the state. The purpose was to give a directional operation of revenue collection in the state.
Stating further, he said as against what was obtainable in the past, the law clearly defined those charged with the legal responsibility to collect taxes.
Barrister Usoh said while the law mandated the EIRS to seize properties of any defaulting taxpayer for the purpose of collecting revenue in the state. The law, he said, also frowned at situations where tax officials are embarrassed in the course of discharging their official duties as well as those officials who collect cash from tax payers instead of directing them to designated banks for payments.
Speaking on the topic,” Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Adesuwa Iluobe of Compliance Professionals, asserted that unless highly effective people are put in place to drive the vision and mission statements of the service, the laws and plans of the EIRS would not come to fruition.
She highlighted some of the habits to include pro-activeness, beginning with the mind, putting first things first, think win-win amongst others.
Mazi Onyegbule of Compliance Professionals stressed the need for the EIRS to ensure that 70 percent of registered taxpayers receive tax information leaflet. He also emphasized the need of 100 hours of training for tax officials to ensure optimal efficiency.
Onyegbule who spoke on Strategic Direction of the EIRS explained that a good working relationship amongst staff/departments would help in achieving the ultimate set goal.
