By Ishaya Obrahim, News Editor
The battle for the control of Value Added Tax (VAT), has reached the Supreme Court. The Rivers State government has asked the apex court to reverse the decision of the Appeal Court which prevents it from collecting VAT in the state.
Rivers State has been in loggerhead with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over who has the authority to collect VAT.
Rivers won the first phase of the judicial battle when a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt says VAT is the constitutional revenue of state governments.
Encouraged by the court ruling, Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, ordered all companies operating in the state to remit VAT to the state government. But an Appeal Court sitting in Abuja stopped the state from doing so.
Rivers has now approached the Supreme Court to order that the substantive appeal by FIRS be heard and determined by a fresh panel of the Court of Appeal.
Abubakar Malami, the attorney general of the federation, was joined as a respondent in the suit.
