Mr. Okon Okon, the Executive Chairman, Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service, AKIRS.
By Abasifreke Effiong
The automation of motor licencing by the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service, AKIRS, has exposed scores of motorists in the State who are in possession of fake vehicle particulars.
About 60 motorists were found using fake licenses on Tuesday during the commencement of an intensive Joint Road Tax Enforcement exercise conducted by the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service in collaboration with Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), VIO and security agencies.
AKIRS deployed electronic application called AutoReg Inspectors Software to verify vehicle particulars using vehicle number plate.
During the first day of the enforcement which took place in four locations within the State capital, about 60 motorists were found in possession of fake licenses.
One of the enforcement officers of AKIRS using his mobile phone to verify the license of a motorist in Uyo.
The affected motorists had presented manual licenses but when details of their licenses were entered into the online app, they were invalid, not captured on the motor licensing database.
Two vehicles belonging to an international construction company working in the state were impounded for having fake licenses.
The chief security officer of the company who was in one of the impounded vehicles said the company renewed the vehicle license with a staff of the State revenue service.
“My license cannot be fake because it was your staff that did all the renewal for us”, the company’s chief security officer argued.
Other motorists who were found with fake licenses lamented that revenue agents have swindled them.
The joint road tax enforcement exercise which is ongoing has caused panic among motorists in the State.
Many commercial bus drivers in the state capital had parked their cars throughout the period of the enforcement on Tuesday when the exercise commenced.
The Director of Enforcement and Recovery Intelligence, Mr. Sylvanus Christopher, said the introduction of automation by the current Board of AKIRS led by Mr. Okon Okon, has made it easier to block revenue leakages in road taxes sector.
“We have a system called AutoReg inspectors software, we use it on Android phone. Immediately you key in the vehicle number into the software, it will show whether the car is registered or whether the papers are valid.”
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“Most of the papers from our neighbouring States internal revenue service are not in the system, they are fake. That is what we have discovered and we have impounded such cars and most of them are doing the payment now because we have interswitch here with us”, Mr. Christopher said at one of the enforcement points.
The Executive Director in-charge of tax enforcement and recovery on the AKIRS Board, Mr. Leo Umana, said the introduction of automation ended the manual regime and makes it easier for vehicle owners to check the status of their vehicle registration.
Mr. Umana reiterated that AKIRS does not have revenue agents and urged members of the public to be wary of fraudster parading as agents of AKIRS.
Mr . Leo Umana, Executive Director, Tax Enforcement and Recovery, AKIRS, monitoring the Joint Road Tax Enforcement exercise.
“When we came on board, we introduced automation, this part of it. We are no longer doing manual registration and renewal of licenses. With the technology, whether you renewed your papers in Lagos, Abuja, once we key it into our system it will show, if it is not on the system, then it is fake.”
“What we have discovered is that some of the car owners did renewal of licenses but it is not in our system, meaning that they did it from the wrong sources.”
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“We have been making announcement that people should not renew their licenses with just anybody, all the transactions should be done in our offices and at designated banks, so it is not our fault that some people have fallen prey to fraudster parading as revenue agents. We don’t have agents.”
Mr. Umana advised motorists in the State who did their license registration or renewal through a third party to visit the revenue house and cross-check the authenticity of their licenses, saying that the road tax enforcement exercise will be continuous.
