The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said it was still in-charge of stamp duty collection in the country.The agency on Tuesday expressed dismay at some earlier newspaper publications that the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) has been licensed for collection of stamp duty charges, alleging that the recent speech by the minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami on the administration of stamp duties in the country was misquoted by some media outfits.
The Director, Communications and Liaison, Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, in a statement Tuesday in Abuja informs the general public, especially taxpayers, that the minister was misquoted as saying that the administration of Stamp Duty was granted to NIPOST by the Finance Act 2020. The speech attributed to the minister was definitely, and unfortunately, quoted out-of-context, he said.
“For the record, the Honourable Minister merely stated that NIPOST would henceforth produce the adhesive stamps required by FIRS to denote Stamp Duties. This position is in line with Section 2 of the Stamp Duties Act (as amended by Section 46 of the Finance Act 2020).”
“The FIRS, therefore, urges taxpayers, tax practitioners and the general public to ignore this unfortunate attempt to cause confusion by twisting the Honourable Minister’s speech.The Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, is a patriot with unarguable passion for the rule of law and stability of the country.
“The FIRS remains the only federal agency permitted by law to collect Stamp Duties on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Therefore, the FIRS urges all taxpayers to disregard the aforementioned fake news and continue to pay their Stamp Duties charges to the FIRS nationwide,” the statement said.
