By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The handling of a tax issue involving one of its branches in Lokoja by the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) has not gone down well with the management of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.
The financial institution, in a statement, expressed its disappointment at the way the state agency escalated the issue rather than work through a professional review process to seek a prudent resolution.
In the statement, Union Bank said despite the route taken by the Kogi State government, it would respond through the “appropriate channels as our objective is to ensure fair and proper assessment, and subsequently, prompt resolution of the situation to reduce the inconvenience to our customers.”
A few days ago, it was reported in the media that officials of KGIRS sealed the Lokoja branch of Union Bank due to alleged tax liability. This development caused inconvenience to customers of the first generation bank.
Though not happy about the closure, Union Bank said it would ensure the right channels are used to resolve the issue with the state government and get its customers using the facility in the shortest possible time.
“As an institution with a proven track record of responsible corporate citizenship, it takes civic obligations seriously.
“For the benefit of our customers, the press, and members of the general public, we wish to state the following, with regard to the above-mentioned incident,” the bank said in the statement.
It stressed that, “Occasionally, as in this case, we may disagree with state entities over the objectivity of tax assessments carried out relating to our business. These are typically resolved through rigorous professional reviews and audits, and sometimes through legal channels.”
“We are, therefore, disappointed that in this instance, the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service has chosen to escalate the issue rather than work through a professional review process to seek a prudent resolution,” the lender noted.
However, Union Bank has urged its customers impacted by the closure to choose convenient digital channels; UnionOnline, UnionMobile and *826# – which are available 24/7 for their banking needs.
