Nigerian Postal Service has said its stamp duty account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Treasury Single Account.
This is in response to Federal Inland Revenue Service’s claim that the postal service agency operated an illegal stamp duty account.
Read Also: FIRS Attacks NIPOST Chairman, Maimuna Abubakar Over Stamp Duty
In a statement on Sunday in Abuja, General Manager, Corporate Communications, NIPOST, Franklin Alao described FIRS claims as false.
He said;
We hereby state categorically that the statement is false and made to misinform and mislead members of the public.
In the statement, which was entitled, “NIPOST stamp duty account was opened by CBN,” Alao stated that the account in question was opened in consultation with the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation.
He expressed that the name of the account was NIPOST Stamp Duties Collection Account, adding that the CBN gave instruction to Deposit Money Banks to commence the deduction of N50 stamp duties from bank customers’ accounts at the time.
Alao explained that the account belongs to the Federal Government, adding that NIPOST does not have access to whatsoever monies lodged into the account, as such the question of illegality and misappropriation does not arise.
He insisted that under the extant laws of Nigeria, NIPOST Act 2004 provides and vest solely in NIPOST the power to print adhesive postage stamps, which is the instrument for denoting documents and other transaction instruments in compliance with the provisions of the Stamp Duties Act.
Alao added,
Historically, the Post in Nigeria, just like in the comity of nations, has at different times produced adhesive postage stamps and revenue stamps for the Federal Government.
It is to this end that NIPOST seeks the proper implementation of the Finance Act. NIPOST is therefore taken aback when FIRS took to the Twitter to call out the Chairman, NIPOST Board, Barrister Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, who only tried to bring the attention of the Service and public that NIPOST would be emasculated if the Act is not properly implemented.
The General Manager stressed;
More so there was a meeting between FIRS and NIPOST in July 2013 in the office of the Executive Chairman of FIRS where we reached resolution that NIPOST is statutory duty-bound to provide the stamps to be used by FIRS at both federal and state levels.
We wish to reassure members of the public that NIPOST as a responsible government institution has always operated within the ambit of the law. We, therefore, urge the general public to disregard the statement credited to the Director, Communication and Liaison, FIRS on the issue.
The two government agencies had in recent times engaged each other in media war over whose responsibility it is to collect the Stamp Duty charge for the government.
Maimuna Abubakar, in her tweets a few days ago, accused the National Assembly and FIRS of stealing NIPOST idea.
Abubakar said NIPOST is saddled with the responsibility of printing and providing postage stamps for payment of postage tariff and payment of stamp duties by the decree No. 18 of 1987
However, the FIRS Director of Communication and Liaison argued that the FIRS is the sole agency of government charged with the responsibility of assessing, collecting, and accounting for all tax types including stamp duties.
