Lagos Court Affirms Role of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria in Regulating Tax Professionals
On July 15, the Lagos Divisional Court of Appeal reaffirmed the authority of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) in regulating tax practitioners across the country. This decision stemmed from an appeal initiated by Afolabi Igbalula and others in 2019 against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (now Nigeria Revenue Service) and CITN, among other parties.
This ruling follows a May 21, 2019, judgment by the Federal High Court in Lagos, which had already dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims on substantive grounds. The recent court decision is part of an ongoing series of judicial reviews regarding the legal framework governing tax professionals in Nigeria.
Historically, in the case of CITN versus ICAN (Case No. M/476/2005), delivered on March 12, 2007, the Lagos High Court ruled that taxation is a recognized profession distinct from accounting in Nigeria. This ruling established that CITN possesses the mandate to regulate tax practice, effectively excluding ICAN and other professional bodies from this domain.
Further reinforcing this legal stance, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, in the ICAN versus CITN case (Appeal No. CA/L/673/07), delivered its judgment on February 15, 2013. The court upheld significant findings that taxation is a separate and distinct profession, affirming CITN’s authority to oversee taxation regulations within the country.
The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed an appeal derived from the ICAN versus CITN ruling (Appeal No. SC.492/2013) on March 16, 2015, following ICAN’s request for withdrawal. In another notable case, Igbalula versus Orsu and FIRS, the Federal High Court, on May 21, 2019, confirmed that the CITN Act takes precedence over the ICAN Act in matters related to tax practice. Further, the court invalidated certain self-assessment rules and ruled that tax agents must first obtain CITN membership.
The Lagos Division of the Federal High Court also dismissed ICAN’s challenge against CITN’s regulatory role in the 2019 case (Case No. FHC/L/CS/125/2019), which was not appealed. This consistency in judicial decisions underscores the legal strength of CITN’s regulatory framework.
It is worth noting that the Igbalula case included efforts to secure both interlocutory and permanent injunctions to prevent CITN and FIRS from enforcing directives stipulated in an FIRS letter dated April 23, 2018. This letter indicated that only CITN-endorsed stamps and those from qualified tax professionals for tax return submissions would be recognized. The ruling issued by Honorable Justice A.O. Fazi on May 21, 2019, clarified that ICAN members wishing to practice taxation must become CITN members, thus emphasizing the exclusivity of CITN’s authority.
In summarizing the judicial landscape from 2007 to 2026, the institute highlighted a series of favorable rulings reinforcing CITN’s legal powers to regulate taxation professionals. These rulings include the landmark judgments from 2007, 2013, 2019, and the latest decision from the Court of Appeal on July 15, 2026. CITN has pledged to keep stakeholders informed about the implications of this most recent ruling and remains steadfast in its commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s tax system while collaborating with various stakeholders.
