About
Stephen Chima Arubike is a partner of G. Elias. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from University of Nigeria and a Barrister-At-Law from the Nigerian Law School. He graduated with a first-class honour from the Nigerian Law School and was one of the overall best prizemen. Stephen’s practice covers tax, corporate law and restructuring, and dispute resolution.

Stephen has advised on the tax dimension to complex corporate and financial transactions and commercial arrangements, providing tax-efficient options to clients in such transactions. Stephen also represents clients in seminal tax litigation before the tax tribunal and superior courts in Nigeria, and before regulators during tax audits and investigations. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Nigerian Branch), Lagos Court of Arbitration, and London Court of International Arbitration.

Contact
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;
Phone number: +234 803 762 9931
LinkedIn - https://ng.linkedin.com/in/stephen-chima-arubike-b061b024

Practice Groups
Disputes
Tax
Corporate

Experience
Some of Stephen’s work include:

• Advice to a multinational retailer on the tax framework for business rescue and restructuring under Nigerian law.
• advice to a wireless telecommunications service provider in Nigeria on the tax efficient option for its proposed restructuring and recapitalization.
• Advice to a leading Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure company in connection with the acquisition by a private equity fund of super-majority stake in the company.
• successfully represented a global oil giant operating in Nigeria in a case on income tax, withholding tax and value-added tax involving SAIPEM local and foreign “engineering, procurement, and construction” entities. An appeal arising from the case is currently before the Supreme Court.
• advice to wholly-owned subsidiaries of a leading global investment bank on its investment in Nigerian telecoms giants, and has been advising them in series of tax audits and tax investigations by the Federal tax authority bordering on income tax, value-added tax, withholding tax and, transfer pricing compliances.
• advised a private equity investor in a Nigeria shopping mall on the tax implications of the entry and exit of both its equity and debt investments in a shopping mall located in Nigerian commercial capital, Lagos.
• advice to a Nigerian subsidiary of an international brand and manufacturer of carbonated drinks on compliance issues arising from the Nigerian transfer pricing regime and also provided alternative structures to its operations.
• currently representing two Nigerian subsidiaries of a US global oil giant in court on tax claims by a state tax authority exceeding USD160million regarding alleged shortfalls in Pay-As-You-Earn taxes remittances.
• represented a Tech Mahindra company successfully at the tax appeal tribunal to prevent the Federal tax authority from (i) imposing additional income and value added taxes, (ii) disallowing business expenses incurred on intra-group transactions; and (iii) charging the national Information technology levy on income earned on its Nigerian operations.
• represented a Nigeria leading consumer product in tax investigations launched against the company by the Federal tax authority as a fallout of its corporate restructuring.

Professional Associations

• Member of the Nigerian Bar.
• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. 

Academic Record and Qualifications

• Barrister-at-Law (B.L) Nigerian Law School, graduated with First Class Honours at the Nigerian Law School.
• Bachelor of Laws (LL. B), University of Nigeria, Nsukka.