Stamp Duty: No Recoveries Yet As Malami Writes Govs
BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – Determined to further drive the process of boosting Nigeria’s revenue profile, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has announced the constitution of the Federal Government inter-ministerial Committee on Audit and Recovery of Back years Stamp Duties from 15th January 15, 2016 to June 30, 2020.
Membership of the Committee is drawn from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in collaboration with relevant Agencies, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
Also listed as Committee’s members are Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFC) and Ministry of Finance among others.
The development was conveyed in a letter to the Governors of 36 states of the Federation for the purpose of compliance with audit and recovery of back years of stamp duty.
In the letter, Malami stated that; “Pursuant to Mr. President’s approval and directives, I also wish to request Your Excellency to direct the State Ministries, Departments, Agencies, and Regulatory Institutions of Financial Sector to engage and grant access to the appointed Recovery Agents for the purpose of the Audit and Recovery of Stamp Duty to ensure that all established liabilities are remitted as appropriate”.
He further said the recoveries are being conducted for Federal Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Financial Institutions, adding that at this stage, liabilities are being established as no actual recovery has been made.
In a statement, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, by Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu explained that Section 111 of the Stamp Duty Act granted the Attorney General of the Federation an exclusive power to recover any outstanding payment or remittances related to stamp duty.
Gwandu said the letters were written pursuant to the provision of Section 111 of the Stamp Duty Act which provides that “all duties, fines, penalties and debts due to the Government of the Federation imposed by this Act shall be recoverable in a summarily manner in the name of the Attorney General of the Federation or the State”.
He also said what the AGF did was to activate those powers, conduct the audit and recovery of back years stamp duty in collaboration with stakeholders.
The statement further said in view of the need to provide a comprehensive overview of the process and for proper understanding the task, the AGF organized a meeting with Attorneys General of States as they have similar powers with respect of stamp duty of Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs) and Financial Institutions in their respective states.
