Nigeria Probe 22 Banks Over Unremitted 100 bln Naira Stamp Duty Collection

Nigeria has set up forensic investigation to unravel how 22 commercial lenders managed over 100 billion naira stamp duty collection on behalf of the federal government since 2000, an agency of government saddled with monitor all revenue accruals into the Federation Account.
According to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) the probe would involve a forensic investigation of the funds collected as stamp duty by the 22 banks between 2000 and last year.
“The commercial banks have been deducting the sum of 50 naira on every deposit with a value of 1, 000 naira and above since January 2000.
A total of 33 billion billion naira has been realised through the collection of stamp duties which falls short estimation by the government.
The commission is expected to recover over 100 billion naira from the affected banks after the forensic probe, a statement by RMAFC said.
“Arrangements have been made to engage the services of reputable forensic audit firms to carry out the probe of the banks. The probe will be comprehensive as it will cover the affixed stamp used on cheque books prior to the introduction of electronic transactions.”
The commission said “if NIPOST is properly repositioned through an appropriate legal and regulatory framework and the introduction of appropriate technology, the Agency can generate over 500 billion naira” from stamp duty collection.
The commission is seeking a legal framework by both the government and the national assembly on the NIPOST enabling law to empower it to expand its operations and attract more revenue.
Besides the planned probe, RMAFC has also embarked on the reconciliation of signature bonuses and other miscellaneous revenues from the oil and gas industry “to enable the Commission engage other stakeholders with a view to reducing revenue leakages and enhance remittance into the Federation Account.”
The Commission has approached other stakeholders, especially the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for support.