Court orders CBN to pay firm N579bn for arrears in stamp duty

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay Kasmal International Services about N579 billion with a 10 per cent annual interest.

The presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo, delivered the ruling on Friday in a case filed by Kasmal against the CBN and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The amount comprises the judgment sum from January 1, 2015, to January 31, 2020, for Kasmal’s role in stamp duty collection.

During the hearing, Kasmal’s lawyer said it was appointed by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to collect a N50 fee on all receipts issued by banks for services related to electronic transfers and teller deposits of N1,000 and above.

According to court documents, the appointment was in line with the Stamp Duties Act and the Nigerian Financial Regulations of 2009.

He posited that the terms of the agreement between NIPOST and the plaintiff included the remuneration of N7.5 from every N50 deduction of which his client’s percentage has not been fully paid as agreed.

“The plaintiff has become aware through public disclosures by the Governor of the CBN that after the initial payment of N10.367 billion to the plaintiff, which did not reflect the total value of all accrued deposits that ought to have been paid into the 1st Defendant NIPOST Stamp Duty Collection Account No. 3000047517 from January 1, 2015, to January 31, 2020.

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“Further remittances were made from the DMBs’ NIPOST stamp duties accounts to the 1st Defendant NIPOST Stamp Duty Collection Account No. 3000047517 in the tune of over N370.7 billion, which were amounts that accrued within the period from January 1, 2015, to January 31, 2020.

“Currently, a total of N3.8 trillion stands in the Stamp Duty Collection Account, ready for distribution among the Federal Government, State Governments, Local Governments, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Coordinating Consultants, and other bodies.

He said the plaintiff’s 15%, amounting to N579,130,698,440, is part of the N3.8 trillion in the Stamp Duty Collection Account.

He explained that the defendants have started taking steps to disburse and transfer the whole of the N3.8 trillion in the Stamp Duty Collection Account without consideration of the outstanding payments due to the plaintiff.

He then prayed the court to issue “an order directing the 1st and 2nd Defendants to pay the plaintiff the sum of N579,130,698,440 or any other sum as may be adjudged by the court upon the production of the records relating to the collection of stamp duty between January 1, 2015, and January 31, 2020.

Delivering his judgement, Ekwo said the submission of the CBN and AGF that NIPOST lacks the statutory power to collect stamp duties “does not hold water”, saying a previous judgement concerning stamp duty in favour of the plaintiff is still subsisting and has not been overturned by a higher court.

Ekwo said the submission of the CBN and the AGF that the reliefs sought by the plaintiff cannot be granted because all revenues accruing to the federation, including the stamp duties, are remitted into the federation account and can only be distributed among the tiers of government as provided in the constitution, is incorrect.

He, therefore, granted the reliefs of the plaintiff and ordered the CBN to pay over N579 billion with associated interest within the stipulated period.