FIRS urges tribunal to join NCS in N3.5m tax dispute

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has
urged the Tax Appeal Tribunal to join the
Nigerian Customs Service, NSC, as defendants
in the N3.5 million tax dispute with Orchid
Nigeria Ltd. Orchid, an Abuja-based company,
had sued the NCS and the FIRS at the tribunal sitting in Abuja over non-refund of N3.5 million
Value Added Tax, VAT. It alleged that the NCS and FIRS erroneously
charged VAT on the Advance Simulator
Systems imported for the training of students
at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron,
Akwa Ibom. Counsel to Orchid, Mr Obi Nwakor,
said that under the first schedule of the VAT Law of 2007 (as amended), books and
educational materials were exempted from
VAT. The FIRS, in a motion filed by its counsel,
Mr Bright Igbinosa, sought the court’s order for
the NCS Board to be joined as a party in the
suit. Igbinosa said that “the interest of the case
would not be reached, if NCS Board is not
joined as a party in this appeal.” The counsel further stated that “the interest of
the respondent will be hugely prejudiced if NCS
board, being the body that issued the disputed
assessment, is not made a party in this case”.
He noted that “the NCS was initially in the
matter before its name was struck out on procedural ground; and that NSC board had also
filed its defence in the matter”. The parties had agreed on an out-of-court
settlement before the NCS at the last
adjournment rescinded its decision, sought and
granted a relief to be struck out of the case on
procedural grounds. Consequently, the Acting
Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr Nnamdi Ibegbu, adjourned the case but did not fix a date for
ruling. Ibegbu said that hearing notices would
be issued to all parties informing them on the
date the tribunal has fixed.