Reps Reject Bill Seeking To Place VAT On Exclusive List

A BILL seeking to place value added tax (VAT) on the Exclusive Legislative List has been rejected by the House of Representatives.

The bill, which is part of the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution, was rejected when it was put to voting on the floor of the lower legislative chamber on Tuesday.

About two hundred members rejected it while ninety-one voted in its favour.

VAT is a subject that has been generating controversy in the country.

A Port Harcourt Federal High Court had ruled that the Rivers State government had the powers to collect VAT within its territory.

In response, through its house of assembly, Rivers State enacted the state VAT law and immediately expressed its readiness to enforce the judgment.

Lagos State followed suit by enacting and signing the state VAT bill into law.

The state joined Rivers State as a co-defendant in an appeal filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) against the Federal High Court judgment.

But an Abuja Court of Appeal has ruled that all parties in the matter should maintain the status quo.

The Supreme Court has fixed May 6, 2022 to deliver judgment on an appeal filed by the Rivers State government to set aside the ruling of Court of Appeal.

The state government also asked the apex court to order that the substantive appeal by the FIRS and all other processes be heard and determined by a new panel of the Court of Appeal.