FIRS: Wike Drags Buhari-led Administration To Court Over VAT

The Rivers State government led by Governor Nyesom Wike on Tuesday dragged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to the Supreme Court over the collection of Value Added Tax (VAT).

In a suit filed by its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State asked the Supreme Court to set aside the Court of Appeal’s order which directed the state to maintain the status quo on the collection of VAT pending the determination of an appeal filed by the FIRS.

The Federal High Court, Port Harcourt issued an order restraining the FIRS from collecting VAT and Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Rivers state.

The agency later filed a stay of execution which was dismissed by the court. Dissatisfied with the ruling, FIRS approached the Court of Appeal to take a second look at the matter.

A three-member panel of the appellate court in a ruling on Friday ordered all the parties in the suit to maintain the status quo on the matter.

The panel refrained the parties from taking any action on the lower court’s ruling which gave Rivers State government the right to collect VAT instead of the FIRS.

In its 10 grounds of appeal, the Rivers State government asked the apex 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 Appeal Court.

Rivers maintained that Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel of the Appeal Court erred in law when it relied on the provisions of Section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution and the inherent jurisdiction of the appellate court to order all the parties to maintain the status quo on the dispute.

It argued that the Court of Appeal lacked the powers to restore the parties to the position they were before the August 9 judgment of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt.

FIRS and the Attorney-General of the Federation were listed as respondents in the appeal.

The Appeal Court had last week Friday ordered the government of Rivers and Lagos State to suspend plans to start collecting the Value Added Tax (VAT).

A three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani said the order was to preserve the ‘Res’ (subject matter) of the appeal before it.