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HomeNationalVAT: More states oppose FIRS, Ogun, Edo, Akwa Ibom consider tax laws

VAT: More states oppose FIRS, Ogun, Edo, Akwa Ibom consider tax laws

The dispute between the Federal Inland Revenue Service and some states over the collection of Value Added Tax seems to be taking a new turn by the day as two more states, Ogun and Akwa Ibom, say they are ready to enact laws that will enable them to collect the tax in their states.

Some other states such as Edo, Ondo, Oyo and Taraba say they are still studying the ruling of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on the matter, while Delta State says it is consulting before it will take a position on the issue.

This is in spite of the ruling by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday that Rivers and Lagos states, which already enacted laws to collect VAT in their states, should stay action on the matter pending the determination of the appeal for stay of execution filed before it by the FIRS.

Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, had on August 10, 2021, ruled that the plaintiff, Rivers State, and not the FIRS, should be collecting VAT and Personal Income Tax in the state.

On Monday, the court also dismissed the FIRS’s application for a stay of execution, noting that the law remained valid until set aside by a higher court of competent jurisdiction.

Justice Haruna Tsammani, who delivered the lead ruling of the three-man panel of the appellate court, ordered that the “the status quo ante bellum” be preserved, as it adjourned the matter to Thursday, September 16, to enable the parties to file their response to the application for joinder filed by the Lagos State Government.

Meanwhile, Rivers and Lagos states already enacted their VAT laws, even though some states such as Kogi are opposed to the move.

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