Court summons minister, AGF over expatriate levy implementation

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, to show cause why the implementation of the proposed expatriates taxation regime should not be stopped.

Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order, yesterday, in a ruling on a motion ex parte moved by counsel who appeared for the plaintiff, Patrick Peter. He ordered that the minister and the AGF be served with the motion within three days of the order.

The plaintiff, Incorporated Trustees of New Kosol Welfare Initiative, had, in the motion ex parte marked: FHC/ABJ/CD/1780/2024, sued the minister and AGF as 1st and 2nd defendants.

The group sought an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants from commencing the implementation of the new Expatriates Taxation Regime known as the ‘Expatriate Employment Levy (EEL)’ in Nigeria, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

Programme Implementation Coordinator of the group, Raphael Ezeh, in the affidavit he deposed to, averred that on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, the Federal Government unveiled a set of proposed new taxation policies called the EEL.

He said, “According to KPMG and other online information analysts and dissemination agencies, the Federal Government intends to compel all companies and organisations who engage the services of foreign expatriates to pay EEL as follows:

“For every expatriate on the level of a director, $15,000 (equivalent to N23 million) and for every expatriate on a non-director level, $10,000 (equivalent to N16 million) per annum.”

Ezeh averred that the Federal Government also planned additional regulations consisting of penalties and sanctions for non-compliance with the proposed taxation regime.

According to him, inaccurate or incomplete reporting will attract five years imprisonment and/or N1 million, and failure of a corporate entity to file EEL within 30 days attracts a penalty of N3 million, failure to register an employee within 30 days attracts N3 million fine, while submission of false information attracts N3 million fine.

Also, the coordinator said failure to renew EEL before its expiry date by an organisation is to attract a sanction of N3 million.

“The proposed taxation regime is totally an anti-people policy because of its radical effect on different aspects of the Nigerian economy and it works like a choke-hold against the economic growth of the nation,” Ezeh added.

The judge adjourned the matter until January 16, 2025, for the minister and the AGF to respond.

The Ministry of Interior had, earlier in 2024, suspended the implementation of the EEL which was launched on February 27, 2024, to allow for further consultations with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and other vital stakeholders.