Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, has dismissed five separate suits filed by Shell Nigeria Oil Products Limited and four affiliated companies, challenging the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over the application of a 3 per cent Tertiary Education Tax (TET) on their 2023 financial year profits.
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The judge arrived at the decision on Monday, February 9, 2026, while delivering judgment on the suits initiated by the oil firm.
Justice Osiagor held that the FIRS acted within the law in assessing the companies at a 3 per cent rate for the accounting year ending December 31, 2023.
The suits, filed in December 2024 through originating summons by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Adedapo Tunde Olowu, alongside Esther Siyaidon, questioned what the plaintiffs described as the retroactive application of the increased TET rate.
The lead case, filed by Shell Nigeria Oil Products Limited, was marked FHC/L/CS/2340/2024, while Shell Nigeria Business Operations Limited instituted the other suits (FHC/L/CS/2339/24), Shell Nigeria Gas Limited (FHC/L/CS/2338/24), Shell Exploration and Production Africa Limited (FHC/L/CS/2341/24), and Shell Nigeria Closed Pension Fund Administrator Limited (FHC/L/CS/2342/24).
The companies argued that under the Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, 2023, the 3 per cent TET rate only took effect from September 1, 2023.
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They contended that profits earned between January 1 and August 31, 2023, should be taxed at the previous 2.5 per cent rate.
The plaintiffs also sought declaratory relief, including a refund of ₦4,270,544, which they described as excess tax allegedly paid after FIRS’ TaxPro Max platform calculated their entire 2023 liability at 3 per cent.
In the alternative, they requested that the sum be credited against future tax obligations.
However, FIRS, represented by Bolanle Oniyangi and Moses Ideho, maintained that the Tertiary Education Tax is an annual tax assessed on a company’s full accounting period, running from January 1 to December 31.
The agency argued that Nigerian tax laws do not permit the proration or fragmentation of an accounting year for the purpose of applying different tax rates.
In his ruling, Justice Osiagor agreed with the tax authority, holding that TET is computed on assessable profits for a complete accounting year.
He stated that there is no statutory basis for dividing a single accounting period into segments to accommodate differential tax treatment.
The court further ruled that no vested right accrued to the plaintiffs before the close of the 2023 accounting year, and therefore the application of the 3 per cent rate did not amount to retroactive taxation.
Justice Osiagor consequently dismissed all five suits in their entirety and affirmed the FIRS’ assessment.
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