The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday granted the prayers of the Federal Inland Service (FIRS) over an earlier ruling by Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on states’ powers to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) and ordered both Rivers and Lagos States to maintain status quo antebellum in favour of the FIRS.
A three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani maintained that the appellate court order was to preserve the ‘Res’ (subject matter) of the appeal before it.
Specifically, the court ordered all the parties that have subjected themselves before it to “refrain from taking any action to give effect to the judgment of the Rivers State High Court”, which gave Rivers State Government the right to collect VAT revenue, instead of the FIRS.
Justice Haruna Simon Tsanami, who issued the order, directed that theVAT law passed by Rivers State House of Assembly and signed by the state governor, Nyesom Wike, must not be implemented.
The appellate court held that since parties had submitted themselves to the authorities of the court for adjudication of the matter, they must not do anything that may destroy or undermine the subject matter of the appeal.
maintain status quo antebellum favour of the Federal Inland Revenue Services FIRS and against the respondents.
However, the state government had, through its Attorney-General, Moyosore Onibanjo, SAN, protested against the issuance of an order for the maintenance of status quo, arguing that such order could not be binding on it, since it was yet to be joined as a party in the appeal by FIRS.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has signed into law the state’s VAT Bill.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, who stated this on Friday said the governor signed the bill after returning from Abuja.
He stated: “The Governor signed the bill for a law to impose and charge VAT on certain goods and services at about 11. 45am today, after returning from an official trip to Abuja. By this act, the Bill has now become a Law.”
