KADIRS seals North’s only surviving textile company over N1.2bn tax liabilities

The Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) has sealed the Kaduna United Nigerian Textiles Limited (UNTL) over N1.2 billion tax liabilities.

UNTL is the only surviving textile company in Kaduna, which in its heydays was the Manchester of Nigeria.

It could be recalled that the company, which was once the largest textile factory in West Africa, had about 10,000 workers on its payroll before it suspended production in 2007.

When the company was operating at maximum capacity, it ran three shifts: morning, afternoon and night, in addition to a permanent day shift for administrative staff members; making the textile community busy 24 hours.

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However, speaking to newsmen after the operation, Barr. Aysha Ahmad, Board Secretary and Legal Adviser of KADIRS, said the tax liabilities were accrued for ground rent, fire service, Kaduna State Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA) among other taxes in the state.

Ahmad said the last time the textile communicated with the KADIRS was in 2022, where tax audit was done but no other response from the company.

She urged residents of the state to prioritise voluntary tax compliance, describing it as a fundamental civic duty.

Daily Trust recalled that in March 2020, UNTL shut down activities after a state-wide lockdown was imposed by the Kaduna State Government to curtail the spread of the COVID-19. Pressure from the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) compelled the company to recall its workers a few weeks ago.

In 2021, the management of the UNTL sacked 300 of its workers, which constitutes 30 per cent of its entire workforce.

With subsidiaries that include Supertext, Funtua Textile, Zamfara Textile, Unitext and Nichem Text, UNTL was founded in 1964.