The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned to hear all pending motions in the suit filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) seeking to stop the Rivers State Government from enforcing an earlier court judgment allowing it to collect Value Added Tax (VAT) till June 6, 2022.
Following the appeal by FIRS, the appellate court had on September 10 asked all parties in the suit to maintain the status quo.
The case began with a suit filed by the Rivers State Government, Justice Stephen Pam of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on August 10, 2021, restraining the FIRS from collecting VAT and Personal Income Tax in the state.
The FIRS had applied for a stay of execution, a request that was denied by the court, saying it would amount to the court sitting in appeal over its ruling, but following a suit filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, the Court of Appeal in Abuja issued an injunction that parties, including FIRS and Rivers and Lagos states, should maintain status quo.
The court at its last sitting on September 30, 2021, had referred the matter to the Port Harcourt division of the court for continuation of hearing.
Presiding over the appeal on Monday, the three-man appeal led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, adjourned the case after receiving applications from the Rivers State Attorney General, Attorney General of the Federation, the FIRS, as well as the Attorney Generals of Oyo and Bayelsa States respectively who sought to join the suit.
Earlier, counsel for the Attorney General of Rivers State, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), urged the court through his motion filed on March 31, 2022, to dismiss the appeal for lack of diligent prosecution, while an extension of time to serve the appellant following his motion dated April 5, 2022, as the allotted service time had elapsed.
