NBA takes lawsuit against Abuja, Lagos over multiple and ‘illegal’ taxation
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Both the federal and Lagos State governments have been sued to court by the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) over the imposition of a Proof of Ownership levy on all vehicles.
The body asked the Lagos Federal High Court to declare as multiple taxation and illegal the imposition of the yearly tax already being charged motorists in Lagos.
The plaintiffs are NBA-SPIDEL Chairman John Akpokpo-Martins; Secretary Funmi Adeogun; and NBA-SPIDEL Governing Council member Francis Ogunbowale.
The defendants are the federal government, the Joint Tax Board (JTB), and the Lagos State Governor.
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Reliefs sought
Per reporting by Vanguard, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare that:
- “By Section 86 (1) of the Personal Income Tax Act 2004 that sets up the Joint Tax Board (JTB), the power it purportedly exercised to impose yearly fees for annual renewal of Proof of Ownership (POC) Certificates on vehicle owners, is ultra vires, unlawful and unconstitutional.”
- The imposition of annual renewal of Proof of Ownership certificates on vehicle owners amounts to multiple taxation and, therefore, illegal because tax agencies and other agencies of governments usually issue certificates of proof of ownership to vehicle owners at the point of registration of vehicles.
- Make “an order striking down the provisions of Sections 73(1), (2) & (3) of the National Road Traffic Regulation No. 101, Vol. 99 of 25th of December 2012, on the grounds of being in violent breach of Item 63 of Part I of the 2nd Schedule to the 1999 Constitution and section 1(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and therefore unconstitutional.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing.