Nipost’s N50 Stamp Duty on Bank Transaction Raises Dust

Nigerian Postal Service (Nipost) is introducing N50 stamp duty on every bank transaction that is above N1, 000 in move bound to raise some dusts.

Already in the stock market, stockbrokers claim that Nipost and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) are creating confusion with the complex nature of collecting stamp duties as it relates to contract notes.

As the stock market operators await clarification on the modalities for remitting stamp duties as it concerns transactions at the Nigerian stock market and the appropriate agency that is responsible for its collection,  Nipost said at the weekend that it will henceforth require the N50-stamping of bank tellers and electronic transfers receipts with values of N1,000 and above.

Nipost said that it is drawing its powers from the Stamp Duty Act 2004 and the Nipost Act 2004 and has gone ahead appoint three deposit money banks, First Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Unity Bank to lead other financial institutions.

Exceptions to this rule are receiving cheques, drafts and any other negotiable instrument that are already duty-stamped.

 Adetola Adekoya, Project Consultant for Nipost, said that the postal agency has obtained appropriate clearance from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to engage banks and other financial institutions on improving the administration of its statutory mandate.

“This is provided for by the Stamp Duty Act 2004 and NIPOST Act 2004 as amended by the National Assembly in 2010. Section 89 of the Act makes provision for the law while Section 92 makes provision for offences in relation to violation of the Act.

“This initiative to improve the administration of the law and make NIPOST efficient did not originate from the CBN but from NIPOST to seriously address poor compliance of members of the public on its statutory mandate. The amount chargeable on the law has been pegged at N50 per transaction receipt, irrespective of the amount involved over N1,000,” he said.   Going down memory lane, Adekoya recalled how receipts issued by landlords to tenants would not be complete without their fixing postage stamps on them.

“This dates back to the time when legacy agency, Posts and Telecommunication department (P&T) that birthed NITEL and NIPOST was charged with such responsibility. However, compliance level on those laws has gone down drastically with detrimental consequences to the continued existence of NPOST as the sole government agency charged with affixing postage stamps to transaction receipts under the law.”

He noted that with the cooperation of the banks, particularly the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System this new drive would create about 20,000 jobs and generate N50 billion for the government in a year.