An Abuja High Court ordered the Federal Government to proceed with its full implementation from January 1, 2026, after dismissing a suit seeking to halt the policy.
In a ruling, the court gave legal backing to the Federal Government, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Assembly to roll out the new tax framework as scheduled, following the failure of an application for an interim injunction.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse Public Trustees, which approached the court challenging what it described as discrepancies in recently enacted tax legislations.
The plaintiff sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Attorney General of the Federation, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly before the court as defendants.
Through a motion exparte, the plaintiff sought an order of interim injunction pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit, to stop or restrain the Federal Government, FIRS, the National Assembly or any of their agencies from implementing, executing or enforcing any provisions of the gazetted Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025 and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025.
The applicant also prayed the court to restrain the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, either personally or through any agency of the Federal Government created under the new Acts, from implementing their provisions in any state of the federation where applicable, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
In a decisive ruling, Justice Kawu, struck out the application and dismissed the suit in its entirety, directing the Federal Government to move ahead with the full implementation of the new tax laws.
Justice Kawu held that the application lacked merit and failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to justify the extraordinary reliefs sought by the plaintiff.
The court noted that the applicants did not demonstrate how the implementation of the tax laws would cause irreparable harm or breach any provisions of the Constitution.
The court further stressed that issues relating to fiscal policy, taxation and economic reforms fall squarely within the powers of the government as provided by law, adding that once a law has been validly enacted and gazetted, it remains in force until amended by the legislature or set aside by a competent court.
The court held that controversies or disagreements over tax laws cannot, on their own, halt the implementation of a duly gazetted statute, except through a specific court order or legislative amendment.
The court affirmed that there was no legal impediment to the commencement of the new tax regime and ordered that implementation should proceed as scheduled from January 1.
