FIRS Generates N3bn Weekly From Stamp Duty Collection—-Nami

The Federal Inland Revenue Service on Tuesday said it generates about N3bn weekly from  Stamp Duties collection by Deposit Money Banks.

The Executive Chairman, FIRS, Muhammad Nami, said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.

The Committee Chaired by
James Faleke had invited the management of FIRS and the Nigeria Postal Service over the recent face-off in Stamp Duty collection and the fate of the N58bn revenue generated by NIPOST through Stamp Duty from February 2016 to April, 2020.

The meeting was attended by the Post- Master General of the Federation Dr. Ismail Adebanjo Adewusi, and NIPOST Board Chairman Barrister Maimuna Yaya among other top officials of the two agencies.

Nami said the FIRS was able to generate the N3bn revenue from Stamp Duty weekly because the Service had deployed a new technology to track and capture such revenue directly into the federation account.

He said through the deployment of an Application Programming Interface technology solution, an – online real time technology that makes collection of Stamp Duties easier, the Service had been able to block revenue leakages.

Nami recalled that when he assumed office in December 2019, the FIRS discovered over N30bn in the NIPOST Stamp Duty Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that by April this year, the balance in the account had grown to N58bn because of the deployment of the API by the FIRS.

He regretted that the differences in who controls Stamp Duty collection between NIPOST and FIRS had degenerated into a media war between the two agencies.

He described the development as “unnecessary and unhelpful.”

He added, “The FIRS regrets that as agency of the government, FIRS and NIPOST allow a simple situation to degenerate to media exposure”.

In his presentation at the meeting, the NIPOST Postmaster General/ Chief Executive described the feud between FIRS and his agency as needless.

He said, “As prelude, it’s important to make this remark. NIPOST is not a tax collecting agency. We are not in business of collecting taxes, that’s not our mandate.

“But our role in Stamp Duty is clearly stated in the law. The issue is the finance amendment Act 2019 did not in any way stop NIPOST from its mandate.

“In spite of amendment to the Finance Act, it has not affected the responsibility of NIPOST. There is no fight between NIPOST and FIRS over tax collection.”

He added that the responsibility of procuring Stamp rests with NIPOST adding that the agency is also entitled to share in the cost of revenue collection.

“All the monies that accrued to the account include proceeds of stamp sales. In the spirit of peace, we want FIRS to look at the issue. We spend effort, we deserve in sharing cost of collection.

“At the initial meeting, FIRS said they will give us 30 percent and take 70 percent, we said no”, he said.

Earlier in his remarks, Faleke said the committee was embarrassed by the disagreement between the two government agencies.

“As a committee responsible for overseeing finance agencies, we decided to call for this dialogue to see if the agencies are doing the
bidding of the law,” he added

He said having heard presentations from both sides; it would be hasty for the committee to just take a decision.

“We will go back, look at all legal issues raised and reconvene”, he concluded.