2019 Finance Act: FIRS sole collector of stamp duty

 Nduka Chiejina, Asst Editor

THE controversy over who will collect stamp duty has finally been rested.

Henceforth, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will be the sole collecting agency of stamp duty in the country.

Before now, the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) had protested to the Minister of Finance demanding that it be collecting agency of stamp duty in the country.

However with the passage of the 2019 Finance Act, the responsibility of being the sole collector of stamp duty now resides with the FIRS.

A statement from the FIRS said Executive Chairman, Mr. Muhammad Nami, confirmed this yesterday.

“The FIRS is now the sole government agency tasked with the collection of Stamp Duty on behalf of the Federal Government,”  he said when he  launched a national tour of the six geo-political zones to sensitise the nation, especially taxpayers, on the 2019 Finance Act.

Read Also: FIRS sole collector of stamp duty- FG

The first leg of the tour started yesterday in the Southwest where Nami met the Ogun State Governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, as well as FIRS officials from Ogun, Oyo and Osun states, in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Nami went on the tour with a select group of top FIRS management staff members as well as the Member representing the South West on the FIRS Board, Chief Wale Ogunyomade.

A statement from the FIRS signed by Director, Communication, Dr. Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, said Nami solicited the support of the Ogun State government in meeting the N8.5 trillion revenue target set for the Service by the Federal Government.

He said: “This comes back to the states and local governments as monthly allocations, which states and local governments apply to provide public infrastructure in your respective territories.”