The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given clarification on the issue of Point of Sale (POS) N50 charges on transactions, insisting that no single individual should pay extra on any goods or services.
The CBN explained that the N50 stamp duty is a fee regulated by an act that directs merchants to pay all necessary taxes as regulated by government agencies.
Speaking to newsmen, the CBN Director of Payment System Management, Musa Jimoh, said the apex bank issued a circular and merchants have misinterpreted the directive.
“Stamp duty has been misinterpreted, our circular that talks about merchants paying stamp duties according to the law do not say that the stamp duty should be paid by the consumer; that is a misrepresentation of CBN directive. What our directive says is that merchants should pay all necessary tax as regulated by government agencies including stamp duty.
“What we told the merchants is that we would like the banks to ensure that the merchants comply with this directive by ensuring that every single payment that customers make to them, the merchants pay the regulated stamp duty of N50.
“What has happened is that they have actually transferred this fee blatantly and openly to the consumers; this is very wrong. No single individual should pay N50 in addition to the cost of the goods.
He stated that “Stamp duty is not to be paid by individuals that are consuming the goods and services of the merchants, the merchants who are receiving the money are the ones who are supposed to pay.”
Jimoh explained that because the stamp duty is not regulated by the CBN, there are no plans to stop stamp duties.
“Stamp duty is not a CBN regulated fee, it is a fee regulated by an act, and so we can’t change or push anything in that direction.
To this effect, the stamp duty remains and cannot be changed by the CBN, what we are doing is to ensure that the institutions we regulate (the banks) become more responsible to ensure that these fees are collected and given to the government.
In another development, the Central Bank has also reduced cash withdrawal charges from other banks’ Automated Teller Machines ATM from N65 to N35 after the third withdrawal within a month.
Banks are now mandated to charge customers N35 for cash withdrawals.
The new guideline signed by Chibuzo Efobi for CBN Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, showed a downward review for electronic banking transaction charges to align with market developments.
The new directive is set to take effect from January 1, 2020, in furtherance of CBN’s quest to make financial services more accessible and affordable to various stakeholders.
