STAMP DUTY ON RENT AND C OF O.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said that stamp duty will now be paid on house rent and certificate of occupancy (C of O) in Nigeria.

The revenue service also urged residents to ensure that rent or lease documents and C of O are subject to authentication with the new FIRS adhesive stamp duty.

Abdullahi Ahmad, director of FIRS communications and liaison department, said this is necessary to give the instruments the force of law and make them legally binding on all parties involved in the transactions.

Mr Ahmad said the new FIRS adhesive stamp was introduced at the official inauguration of the inter-ministerial committee on audit and recovery of back years stamp duties.

The FIRS spokesperson quoted Muhammad Nami, the FIRS executive chairman, as saying that the chargeable transactions under the stamp duties act as amended in the Finance Act 2019 are in two categories – fixed duty instruments and ad-valorem instruments”.

He said: “The following are the chargeable transactions in the fixed duty instruments category, power of attorney (PoA), certificate of occupancy (C of O), proxy form; appointment of receiver, memorandum of understanding (MoU), joint venture agreements (JVA), guarantor’s form, and ordinary agreements receipts.

“While ad-valorem instruments chargeable under the stamp duties act are deed of assignment, sales agreement, legal mortgage or debentures, tenancy or lease agreement, insurance policies, contract agreements, vending agreement, promissory notes, charter-party and contract notes.

“Stamp duty is basically charged in two forms, either ad valorem where duty payable is a percentage of the consideration on an instrument or a fixed sum irrespective of the consideration on dutiable instrument or document.”

The FIRS advised Nigerians to ensure that all the listed instruments contain the new FIRS adhesive stamp affixed or stamped on them as this would legalise such instruments.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the revenue agency said it generated the sum of N66 billion from stamp duties between January and May.

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Mr Nami said the money realised in the first five months of the year from stamp duties represented about 1,000 per cent increase.

He stated that the increment was unprecedented when compared to six billion naira collected from January to May 2019.

The FIRS boss attributed this increase to the dynamism triggered by Finance Act 2019, sums warehoused by the CBN in respect of prior years and the deployment of technology as well as stakeholders’ collaboration.