Court Hears VAT Suit, May 9

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, will on Monday, May 9, 2022, resume the hearing on the appeal filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) against the Rivers State Government over the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) in Nigeria and Personal Income Tax (PIT).
Emmanuel Ukala, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and lawyer representing Rivers State, confirmed this development, last Saturday.
According to a senior official of the Court of Appeal, representatives of respective parties in the suit have been asked to submit their applications to the court ahead of the sitting.
Collection of VAT in Nigeria had generated a heated argument across the country after a Federal High Court issued an order restraining FIRS from collecting it, hence, directing the Rivers State Government to take charge of the collection.
The landmark judgement also implies that other state governments could follow and collect VAT in their jurisdictions.
Following the judgement, the FIRS had filed an appeal on the issue.
Not too long after, on September 10, 2021, the Lagos State Government applied to the Court of Appeal in Abuja to be joined as a co-respondent in the appeal filed by FIRS — a request later granted on September 30, 2021.
Oyo State Government had also applied to be joined as a respondent.
However, the Court of Appeal ordered both Rivers and Lagos states to maintain status quo, pending the determination of an appeal filed by the FIRS.
But, the Rivers State Government had asked the Supreme Court to set aside the order of the court of appeal.
The matter is still in court.