Requisite Jurisdiction of Courts over Tax Matters in Nigeria
Keywords:
Jurisdiction of Courts, Tax Matters, Federal High Court, Tax Appeal TribunalAbstract
There is conflict of jurisdiction between the Federal High Court and the Tax Appeal Tribunal in Nigeria. Hence, this study aims at giving a comprehensive overview of the types of tax dispute that each court can entertain and succinctly analyze the controversy of jurisdiction between the Federal High Court and Tax Appeal Tribunal. It further discusses the courts that have jurisdiction over tax matters in Nigeria. Consequently, it is observed that various courts have jurisdiction over different types of tax matters in Nigeria depending on the tier of government that has power to impose the tax, the amount of money sought to be recovered or the organization or individual from whom tax is being recovered. It is instructive, therefore, to note that while the Court of Appeal is vested with jurisdiction over tax matters, appeal lies from it to the Supreme Court. Therefore, the Supreme Court is the only court vested with appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the Court of Appeal either as of right or with leave.
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