In a desperate effort to retain control over the Value Added Tax (VAT) stream of revenue, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has gone ‘forum shopping’ by approaching the National Assembly to effect a constitutional amendment, transferring VAT collection from the concurrent to the exclusive legislative list.
If this succeeds, federating states will be starved of the powers to legislate on VAT.
In a letter obtained by a Punch newspaper correspondent on Wednesday and signed by the Executive Chairman of the FIRS, Muhammad Nami, dated July 1, 2021, and addressed to the Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, the FIRS requested for the establishment of the Federal Revenue Court of Nigeria. This is contained in a PUNCH newspaper report.
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had on August 10 delivered a judgment restraining the FIRS from collecting Value Added Tax (VAT) and personal income tax in Rivers State.
The FIRS had appealed the ruling, but the appeal seeking to block the Rivers State Government from enforcing the judgement and collecting VAT, failed.
The federal tax agency specifically pleaded with the nation’s apex legislative institution, to vest, exclusively, all adjudication of tax disputes, including federal tax laws, companies’ income tax, petroleum tax, income tax, capital gain tax, stamp duty, VAT, taxes, levies and other laws, regulations, proclamations, government notices and rules on the Federal Revenue Court of Nigeria.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service proposal is to remove the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court only on anything connected or related to federal tax matters, since same would be vested on the proposed Federal Revenue Court of Nigeria.
It also proposes the insertion of value added tax immediately after Stamp Duties under item 58 part II of 2nd schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the FRN.
