CORAM
ALEXANDER JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
COKER, JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
UDOMA, JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT
PARTIES
IN RE: CHIEF M. A. OKUPE
APPELLANTS
FEDERAL BOARD OF INLAND REVENUE
RESPONDENTS
AREA(S) OF LAW
ASSESSMENT OF TAX – ORDER OF CERTIORARI-PERSONAL INCOME TAX ACT- TAXATION LAW
SUMMARY OF FACTS
The appellant was served with notices of assessment of tax together with notices of refusal to any objection without being afforded opportunity to object to the assessment within 30 days.
HELD
The court held that there was a breach of the Personal Income Tax Act and that an order of certiorari will lie to quash the assessment and to prohibit any further assessment for the period covered by the action.
ISSUES
Whether an order of certiorari could lie in the circumstances of this case.
RATIONES DECIDENDI
RIGHT TO PROPER ASSESSMENT
The law gives the tax-payer the right to object to a proper assessment within a period of thirty days of the service on him of the notice of assessment. Per Coker J.S.C
ORDER OF PROHIBITION
An order of Prohibition lies to restrain an inferior tribunal or any body of persons which has a legal authority to determine questions affecting the rights of subjects from exceeding its jurisdiction Per Coker J.S.C
MEANING OF OBJECTION
A valid objection must and does mean an objection which is sustained and an objection in respect of which a notice of refusal has been served cannot be and it is not a valid objection. Per Coker J.S.C
CASES CITED
1. King v. Wandsworth Justices Ex parte Road (1942) 1 KB 281;
2. R. v. Camborne Justices Ex parte Pearce (1955) 1 QB 41.
3. Anisminic Ltd. v. Foreign Compensation Commission (1969) 2 WLR 163P.507
STATUTES REFERRED TO
1. The Personal Income Tax (Lagos) Act, 1961