Court rejects Delta’s 5% consumption tax on VAT transactions

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed Delta State's attempt to impose a five percent consumption tax on transactions already subject to Value Added Tax (VAT). The court ruled that Sections 3 and 4 of the Delta State Hotel Occupancy, Restaurants and Departmental Stores Consumption Tax Law, 2017, as well as Section 7(b), Item 13 of the Schedule to the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act (Amendment) Order No. 77 of 2015, were invalid.

This decision was made by Justice Peter Lifu on October 9, 2026, and includes a perpetual injunction against the enforcement of these provisions. The plaintiffs, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association and Retail Supermarkets Nigeria Limited, argued that the additional consumption tax created overlapping obligations with the federal VAT regime, increasing the tax burden on businesses and consumers.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.