An Abuja High Court dismissed a lawsuit attempting to stop the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax structure, which is set to take effect on January 1, 2026.
The National Assembly, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Tinubu-led federal administration now have complete legal support to implement the new tax legislation, according to The Guardian.
In the lawsuit, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Senate President, the Incorporated Trustees of African Initiative for Abuse of Public Trustees, and the
Speaker of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives before the court on purported inconsistencies in the recently passed tax laws.
In an ex parte motion, the plaintiff requested an interim injunction prohibiting the implementation or enforcement of the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025; Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025; Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025; and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025 by the Federal Government, FIRS, the National Assembly, and related agencies while the substantive suit was being decided.
In addition, the group requested that the court hold off on the President enforcing the legislation elsewhere in the federation until its motion on notice was heard.
But in a decision rendered yesterday, Justice Kawu rejected the plea, concluding that it was without substance and did not provide enough legal justification to support the remedy that was requested.
The court emphasized that issues of fiscal policy and economic changes were fully within the purview of government, ruling that the plaintiffs had failed to show how the adoption of the new tax legislation will cause irreversible harm or violate any provision of the Constitution.
Justice Kawu also concluded that disagreements over tax laws cannot halt the implementation of an existing legislation and that any purported faults or controversies can only be rectified through legislative change or a substantive court decision once a law has been properly enacted and gazetted.
As a result, the court confirmed that there was no legal barrier to the new tax regime’s adoption and ordered that it start on January 1, 2026, as planned.
As part of the Federal Government’s larger fiscal and economic reform program, which aims to increase revenue, streamline the tax system, and reduce leakages, the new tax regime is based on four historic tax reform measures that were signed into law in 2025.
The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025, the Nigeria Tax Act, 2025, the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025, and the Joint Revenue Board of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2025, combine and replace a number of current tax laws, including those pertaining to stamp duties, value-added tax, capital gains tax, personal income tax, and company income tax.
The introduction of contemporary, technologically advanced tax administration systems like digital filing and electronic compliance monitoring, the expansion of the tax base, protection for small businesses and low-income earners, and the harmonization of various taxes into a more simplified framework are all important components of the reforms.
In order to improve efficiency, coordination, and revenue collection across governmental levels, the reforms also call for the reorganization of federal tax administration, including the establishment of the Nigeria Revenue Service.
Although the federal government has stated that the reforms are essential for stabilizing public finances and financing social services and infrastructure, the laws have sparked a heated public debate. Some political actors and civil society organizations have claimed that there are differences between the National Assembly’s versions and the ones that were later gazetted.
Calls for suspension, re-gazetting, and legal action were prompted by these worries, and the Abuja High Court ultimately dismissed the suit.
Stakeholders responded to yesterday’s finding by calling it a significant victory for the changes and stating that it has eliminated all legal barriers that would have caused the new tax structure’s adoption to be delayed.
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