Enugu Enforces Daily Mortuary Levy to Discourage Long-Term Morgue Use

The Enugu State Government has officially enforced a N40 daily mortuary tax, aiming to reduce extended corpse storage in morgues across the state.

Emmanuel Nnamani, the Chairman of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS), confirmed the development on Saturday in response to a viral circular that had sparked widespread discussion online. The circular, which was addressed to mortuary attendants, was dated September 17, 2024, and clarified the specifics of the tax in accordance with section 34 of the Birth, Deaths, and Burials Law Cap 15, as revised in Enugu State’s 2004 laws.

The directive instructed mortuary attendants to collect a fee of N40 per day for any corpse that remains unburied beyond 24 hours. The payment must be made prior to the release of the body for burial, with the collected funds being directly remitted to the state’s coffers as part of the internally generated revenue (IGR).

“The sum of N40.00 only is to be paid by owners of a corpse once it is not buried within twenty-four hours. The amount continues to accrue daily,” the circular stated. Mortuary attendants were also advised to ensure that the payments are remitted into the Enugu State IGR Account under “mortuary tax.”

Clarifying the public’s confusion regarding the tax, Nnamani emphasized that the levy is not new, stating that it has been part of the state’s law for several years. He also dismissed social media claims suggesting the tax was set at N40,000.

“It is an indirect tax paid by mortuary owners, not the family of the deceased, and it’s just N40, not N40,000,” Nnamani explained in a statement reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He further clarified that, for example, if a body stays in the mortuary for 100 days, the mortuary would be required to remit N4,000 to the state.

Nnamani underscored that the primary aim of the tax is not revenue generation but rather to discourage the overuse of mortuaries for long-term corpse storage. “Since its introduction, nobody has been denied burying their loved ones,” he added.