The Federal High Court gave its decision in the case of Saipem Contracting Nigeria, Saipem (Portugal) Commercio Maritimo Su LDA and Saipem SA v. Federal Inland Revenue Services, Attorney General of the Federation and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (FHC/L/CS/1081/09) due to provision of various services and supplies on March 27, 2014. The Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) has argued that the income earned by Porto and Saipem was subject to withholding tax, income tax and VAT in Nigeria.

The Court required to settle on the position it had represented to the plaintiffs on whether their income was subject to tax as FIRS was entitled to reverse the position, whether income earned by a non-resident company without a fixed base in Nigeria from activities rendered offshore to a Nigerian company are subject to withholding tax, income tax and VAT in Nigeria and whether the Nigeria France Double Tax Agreement exempted the income of Saipem SA, a French company without a fixed base in Nigeria, from tax in Nigeria. The High Court held that the demonstration made by FIRS could not supersede the provisions of the law and income earned by a non-resident company from a contract with a Nigerian company is subject to income tax in Nigeria. However, Portco and Saipem are not subject to VAT in Nigeria, since they are not the consumers and VAT is a consumer tax. According to the France – Nigeria Income Tax Treaty (1990) with France, the Government held that there was no conflict with the provisions of the double tax agreement and the income being subjected to income tax in Nigeria is not the global income of Saipem SA.