VAT Dispute: Rivers Takes FIRS To Supreme Court

Rivers State Government has taken the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to Supreme Court over Value Added Tax (VAT) dispute between the two.

Gatekeepers News reports that the Rivers State Government has asked the supreme court to set aside an order of the court of appeal over the collection of value-added tax (VAT).

The Appeal Court earlier directed the state to maintain the status quo on the collection of value-added tax (VAT) pending the determination of an appeal filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

This comes after a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt issued an order restraining the federal tax authority from collecting VAT and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Rivers state.

Although the FIRS had appealed for a stay of execution, the court dismissed it on the basis that it would “negate the principle of equity”.

Following this, the federal tax authority proceeded to the court of appeal.

However, the appellate court on Friday, ordered parties in the suit to maintain the “status quo ante Bellum” (to maintain the situation as it existed before).

A three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani specifically ordered all the parties in the suit to ”refrain from taking any action to give effect to the judgement of the Rivers State High Court,” which earlier gave Rivers State Government the right to collect VAT revenue, instead of the FIRS.

Rivers State in its 10 grounds of appeal lodged before the apex court, through its attorney-general is praying the Supreme Court to order that the substantive appeal by the FIRS, marked CA/PH/282/2021, and all other processes therein, be heard and determined by a new panel of the Court of Appeal.

The State also included the Attorney-General of the federation as a respondent in the appeal.

Emmanuel Ukala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, alongside three other senior lawyers is representing Rivers State.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government had to join as a party in the appeal after passing the state’s VAT bill into law.

In Ogun State, the VAT bill scaled the second reading at the State House of Assembly On Tuesday.