The legal battle between telecommunications giant MTN and Nigerian Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) will be heard on June 26.
This followed the Federal High Court’s rejection this week of the Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by the AGF in response to MTN Nigeria’s lawsuit.
MTN took legal action after receiving a demand notice from the AGF alleging unpaid duties and taxes of about $2-billion between 2007 and 2017.
MTN is challenging the authority of the AGF to deal with issues around tax and custom duties, saying that, according to law, oversight for this is the responsibility of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Nigerian Customs Service.
The court had heard arguments on the preliminary objection on March 26, when the AGF requested that MTN’s suit be dismissed because it was not filed within the appropriate timeframe, which the AGF asserted was within three months of receipt of the initial request for a self-assessment.
“Having considered the matter, the judge determined that MTN’s suit was not statute-barred, as the company was only required to file its case within three months of receipt of the actual demand notice, which it did,” MTN said in a statement.
“It is important to note that even if the court ultimately rules that the AGF is within its rights to assess taxes and duties, it does not imply that the assessment that has been made is legitimate.”
MTN maintains that it is fully compliant with Nigerian tax laws.