*Senate uncovers N18.6bn NIPOST fund
Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS ) and the Nigeria Postal Services ( NIPOST ) are battling over who controls billions of naira accruing from Stamp Duties payment.
While FIRS said that collection of stamp duties is part of its statutory function, NIPOST stoutly disagreed.
NIPOST is spearheading a bill for an Act to amend the Stamp Duties Act, Cap.S8, laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, to ensure compliance with current realities and for related matters.
The controversial bill, which emanated from the House of Representatives, has already been passed by the House and referred to the Senate for concurrence.
The bill seeks the amendment of Section 2 of the principal Act by changing the definition of “Stamp” and addition of the definition of words “Proceeds” and “Stamping Protocol”
The bill also seeks the amendment of Section 5 of the principal Act by substituting the word “may” for “shall” in Section 5(2) to read “Where the duty may be denoted by adhesive stamp, Postage Stamps shall be used for the purpose.”
It further seeks amendment of Section 89 of the principal Act in sub 2 to change “may” to “shall” to read “For the purposes of the Act, all income from denotation of receipt, document or instrument with postage stamp shall be known as Stamp Proceeds.”
The Post Master General, Bisi Adegbuyi and Ike Odume, Director Legal Services, FIRS who appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance, argued for and against the bill.
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun was also represented at the hearing by Tor Tsavsar, Director Technical Services, Federal Ministry of Finance.
Chairman of the committee, Senator John Owan Enoh, said that the hearing became necessary to enable the Senate take informed position on the bill.
Enoh noted that although the House of Representatives has passed the bill, his committee was mandated to consider it for its merit or demerit.
The committee questioned the submission of the Post Master General, “because it came without letter head and was not signed.”
Enoh asked Adegbuyi to do the needful before he could be allowed to make his presentation.
The FIRS representative said that the Service was opposed to the bill in its entirety because NIPOST wanted to usurp its statutory function.
Odume said that the Act NIPOS sought to amend affects the 36 states of the Federation “and for the amendments to pass 36 states of the Federation must be around to make their input.”
He noted that the Stamp Duties Act is a tax legislation which has nothing to do with NIPOST.
The subsisting Stamp Duties Act, he said, gave the Federal Government and states the leeway to generate revenue and has nothing to do with post office.
Odume noted that the proposed amendment aimed at eroding the statutory powers of the FIRS.
He said, “FIRS was given a law to administer which includes Stamp Duties Act. Item 96 of FIRS Act is the administration of Stamp Duties Act. What is the mischief of NIPOST in amending the law. Stamp Duty is a form of tax. All NIPOST is seeking is to usurp the power of the FIRS and the 36 states. It should not be allowed.”
Representative of the Ministry of Finance adopted the position of FIRS on the bill and sought periodic review of the rate of stamp duty.
The committee chairman remarked that any body could seek amendment of a law “what is important is the content and what the bill seeks to achieve.”
The Post Master General told the committee that the bill is a private member bill
Adegbuyi in his presentation said that the amendment of the Stamp Duties Act became necessary because the law has become obsolete and no longer relevant to meet the challenges of modern day.
He said that NIPOST was only asking to be allowed to sell stamp either manually of electronically.
Adegbuyi said, “We are seeking the amendment of the Act to include sale of postage stamp. We are not collecting tax. It is in the interest of Nigeria to draw a line between duty and stamp. We want to sell our stamp.”
He prayed the committee to allow the bill to pass.
Chairman of the committee asked the Post Master General the whereabouts of N18.6 billion the committee stumbled upon in the account of NIPOST.
Enoh asked severally “where is this money, where is it. This committee wants to know where the money is. This committee is interested to know where the money is kept.”
The committee also demanded to know how the huge fund was accumulated.
The Post Master General told the committee that the money is with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Adegbuyi said that NIPOST do not have access to the fund.
