Library / COURT AFFIRMS NMDPRA’S POWERS ON STATUTORY LEVIES
COURT AFFIRMS NMDPRA’S POWERS ON STATUTORY LEVIES

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NIGERIAN MIDSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM PETROLEUM 
REGULATORY AUTHORITY (NMDPRA)  
` 
PRESS RELEASE 
 
COURT AFFIRMS NMDPRA’S POWERS ON STATUTORY LEVIES 
 
In what is a far-reaching and the first major judicial decision on the Petroleum 
Industry Act 2021 (“PIA”), the Nigerian Federal High Court has affirmed the 
power of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory 
Authority (NMDPRA or Authority) to impose and collect levies on petroleum 
products sold in Nigeria.  
 
In an action filed by IHS Nigeria Limited and INT Towers Limited against the 
NMDPRA, the plaintiffs argued that they are not liable to pay statutory 0.5% 
levies for the ‘Authority Fund’ and the ‘Midstream and Downstream Gas 
Infrastructure Fund’ respectively on petroleum products they import. 
According to the plaintiffs, their products are not ‘sold in Nigeria’, but rather 
used for their respective business operations, and therefore not in the category 
of petroleum products subject to the levies. They also sought for the court to 
declare two key regulations for the implementation of the PIA void and illegal 
-  the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Operations (“MDPO”) 
Regulations 2023 (which define the concept of ‘sold in Nigeria’) and the 
Petroleum (Transportation and Shipment) (“PTS”) Regulations 2023 (which sets 
out the information the NMDPRA may demand from a permit holder) – on the 
basis that they overreach sections 47(2) and 57(7) PIA and amount to a breach 
of the constitutional right to personal property respectively.  
 
Delivering judgment in the suit on Monday 5th February 2024, Honourable 
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja Division, agreed with the 
arguments of the NMDPRA counsel Dr. Emeka Akabogu, and affirmed the 
validity of the Midstream and Downstream Operations Regulations 2023 as well 
as the Petroleum (Transportation and Shipment) Regulations 2023. The court 
held that the regulations neither overreach nor conflict with sections 47(2)(c) 
and 57(7)(a) of the PIA which provide for payment of a 1% levy on petroleum 
products and natural gas sold in Nigeria. The court found that the definition of