The goal is to make sure that road tax laws are applied the same way in the state and across states so that people don't get taxed twice or more.
During the launch of the scheme, the Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), Prince Emeka Odo, said that the activity was in line with the initiative of the Joint Tax Board (JTB), which "the Enugu State Government under the distinguished leadership of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has keyed into in the interest of the tax payers of Enugu State."
Odo said, "The JTB introduced the Single Haulage Fee (SHF) last year at points of loading and unloading in states of departure or discharge and the Single Inter-State Road Taxes Sticker (SIRTS) for any vehicle in Nigeria."
The ESIRS chairman said that Governor Ugwuanyi's government has approved and adopted the mandate as of January 1, 2023. He also said that Enugu State "will now use a Single Inter State Sticker for all commercial vehicles that ply on its roads anywhere in the state."
Odo said this about how it would work: "The Single Haulage Fee will be paid wherever goods are loaded or unloaded in Enugu State. The Enugu State Internal Revenue Service is in charge of these SIRTS and SHF and making sure they are followed.
"All drivers must pay for SIRTS when they register or renew their licenses or with a consultant approved by the state of Enugu. SHF will be paid per trip."
"These payments will be made at the point of loading through a profiled vendor who will enter the haulage operator's information into the system. The information will be used by the system to figure out the amount to be paid. Stickers bought anywhere else but ESIRS are against the law."
The chairman said that ESIRS has taken steps to make sure that illegal people can't make copies of the physical stickers. This is why an electronic sticker with a Quick Response Code will be used instead, which will make verification easier.
"Along with the electronic stickers, the taxpayers will get a printout from the POS that shows the details of their payment. The electronic sticker now has an internal control system with special bar codes and embedded information, like the make and model of the vehicle and a serial number for verification. "The electronic stickers also have anti-counterfeiting features and an authentication system to protect against fraud," he said.
Odo said that the agency was committed to the success of the scheme in Enugu State and warned "unscrupulous people parading themselves as staff of ESIRS" to stop doing so because "we will do everything in our power to arrest and prosecute them."
"We have an e-enforcement team that has a device that can get the license plate number of a car from 100 meters away. This system checks the vehicle's level of compliance without having to stop it. At the next entry/exit point, only vehicles that don't follow the rules will be towed away. Note that e-stickers will be available to the taxpayer 48 hours after he or she registers.
The ESIRS chairman said, "His Excellency, the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has given me permission to say that these stickers are now for sale."
(Source: www.thisdaylive.com)
