Court of Appeal, Abuja has granted Lagos State request to strip the Federal Internal Revenue Service, FIRS, of the right to collect Value Added Tax, VAT.
The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel on Thursday, held that the Lagos State, through its Attorney General, established that it “has a direct and substantial interest” in the matter.
Thus, he issued an order, joining Lagos State as the third defendant in the appeal filed by FIRS to overturn the judgment of a Federal Superior Court in Port Harcourt, which gave Rivers State the go-ahead to collect the proceeds. VAT within its territory
The Court of Appeal, in the judgment that was read by the head of the panel, Justice Haruna Tsammani, ordered FIRS to notify the Lagos State Attorney General of all relevant processes in the appeal.
He postponed a new hearing on the matter until October 7, revealing that further proceedings in the case would take place in Port Harcourt.