The Enugu State Government has introduced a daily Mortuary Tax to discourage individuals from leaving deceased relatives in morgues for extended periods. A circular regarding this tax has been widely shared online, leading to public discussion.
The Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), Emmanuel Nnamani, clarified that the purpose of the Mortuary Tax is not to generate revenue but to prevent unnecessary storage of bodies in morgues. The circular, in line with section 34 of the Births, Deaths, and Burials Law of Enugu State (2004), states that a fee of N40 will be charged daily for corpses not buried within 24 hours.
The circular instructs that the payment must be made by those responsible for the deceased before collecting the body for burial, and the fees are to be remitted to the ESIRS at any commercial bank under the mortuary tax category.
Addressing concerns, Nnamani emphasized that the tax is not new, nor has the fee been increased to N40,000, as falsely claimed by some social media users. He explained that the tax is an indirect fee paid by mortuary operators, not by the deceased’s families, and that the daily amount is just N40.
He also reassured that no one has been prevented from burying their loved ones due to this tax, and reiterated that the policy is meant to discourage long-term corpse storage, not to serve as a revenue source.