Uche Usim, Abuja
In furtherance to its economic diversification blueprint, the Federal Government is eyeing a possible N1 trillion revenues from the collection of stamp duties.
To the end, it has inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Audit and Recovery of Back Years Stamp Duties and the Launch of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Adhesive Stamp.
Speaking at the inauguration themed ‘Stamp Duties Act: Repositioning Nigeria Towards Greater Revenue Mobilisation’ the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha said the committee was expected to judiciously undertake an audit and recovery of stamp duties charged from January 2016 to date that are yet to be remitted to the government by relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Statement Plc (NIBSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
According to him, the Buhari administration has consistently emphasized the need for the tightening of all areas of leakages, wastages and revenue losses, as it has become more important now that the projected realizeable revenue from all sources available to the government assistance per the 2020 budget estimates is far lower than the projected expenses, leading to a budget deficit of N5 trillion.
“The government has recognized the fact that for meaningful development to be achieved, it has to look inwards to use every available means to shore up its revenue generating capacity. It’s time to think outside the box in the face of dwindling oil revenue. There is assurance that the collection of Stamp duties will be second to oil revenue as it has the potential to yield up to N1 trillion annually if properly harnessed.
“To ensure transparency, I hereby direct and request that all recoveries made by this committee be remitted to appropriate Stamp duty account maintained by the Federal Government with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) .
“I also direct and request that all relevant MDAs, particularly CBN, NIBSS, DMBs, NIPOST and FIRS should give maximum cooperation to the committee in the discharge of its mandate”, he noted.
The SGF also harped on the need for Nigeria to have a widened revenue base, pointing out that the committee has a lot to do to boost the economy and avoid it from sliding back into recession.
He expressed confidence on the members of the committee, describing them as competent.
Mustapha added that headquarters of the committee will be Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, while the FIRS will serve as the secretariat.
In his remarks, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami said Stamp Duties collection dates back to 1939 during the colonial era.
He noted that the committee’s inauguration was a practical expression of the Buhari administration’s will to set the records straight, especially as it derives powers from the 2019 Finance aimed at clarifying the nation’s tax laws.
“Section 4(1) & (2) of the Stamp Duties Act empowers the Federal and State government to impose, charge and collect Stamp duties in different circumstances.
“The Federal Government has the sole authority to impose and charge Stamp duties of documents relating to the matters between a company and an individual. The state government collects it in respect of documents executed between individuals or persons at such rates imposed or charged as agreed with the Federal Government.
“The FIRS shall be the only competent authority to impose, charge and collect duties upon instruments specified in the schedule to this Act if such instrument relates to matters executed between a company and an individual, group or body of individuals.
“Following the inadequacies in operation of law and exercise of authority on Stamp duty certain backlog of generated revenue were left unaccounted for thereby transforming into a matter of recovery for the Federal Government.
“Consequent upon this predicament, the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is compelled to activate mechanism for recovery in order to ensure that the Federal Government is not shortchanged.
Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila said the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading economic effects have made it necessary for agencies of government to be proactive in bringing about rapid economic recovery.
“I, therefore, urge all the other revenue agencies to rise up to the challenge. The committee has a vital role to play to collect the taxes and duties and must be done professionally.
The FIRS Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami in his presentation said only N18 billion stamp duty revenue was realized in 2019.
He described as germain and a strong fulcrum to boost internally generated revenue.