The Supreme Court, in Abuja, on Friday, struck out an appeal filed by the Lagos State government challenging the power of the Federal Government to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) within its constitutionally defined jurisdiction.
In a judgment by a panel of the apex court, Justice Dattijo Mohammed upheld the preliminary objection filed by the Federal Government and dismissed the suit on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.
The court maintained that after an earlier rejection of the suit by a high court and the court of appeal, the plaintiff approached the apex court with similar reliefs, asking it to invoke its original jurisdiction and hear the matter.
It described the suit as “an abuse of court process in the extreme,” adding that the action of the plaintiff amounted to “forum shopping.”
Having declined jurisdiction to hear the suit, the court held that it was not necessary to determine the issues raised by the plaintiff in the suit.
“It is accordingly unnecessary to delve into the issues, having declined jurisdiction. The preliminary objections raised against the competence of the plaintiffs’ suit succeed and the plaintiff’s suit is hereby struck out,” Justice Mohammed stated.
Lagos State had approached the court seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration to abolish the Value Added Tax VAT Act which, it said, infringed on its power to access and collect taxes on the supply of goods and services within its territory.
The state’s Attorney-General had insisted that the Supreme Court ought to nullify the VAT Act and grant the reliefs which, according to the brief of argument, include a declaration that the VAT Act is outside the legislative competence of the National Assembly and is, therefore, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel for the Federal Government, Adedara Adedeji, applauded the apex court for upholding its preliminary objection by dismissing the suit.
