Pantami Urges Nigerians, Institutions of Govt to Comply with Stamp Duty Law….As NIPOST rolls out 25 million stamps

Oru Leonard

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has urged Nigerians, government and other institutions to comply in accordance with the provision of the Finance Act 2020.

Pantami who made the call while speaking at the launching of the N50 denomination revenue stamp on Tuesday, stated, “I urge all other Institutions of Government to comply with the law as ignorance is not an excuse”.

The revenue stamps, which come in a single denomination of N50 and will be made available in post offices nationwide, is expected to be used by the general public for the authentication and validation of documents and denotation of duties or fees.

He  said the stamp will be used in denoting documents, authenticating business transactions, authenticating agreements, and authenticating any lawful transaction that may take place between Institutions.

“From now henceforth, all these transactions are based on the provision of the Finance Act 2020 and we must ensure that as good citizens we comply with this in all our activities. Whatever is generated is for Nigeria and Nigerians and will contribute in making the country a better place for all”, he  cautioned.

On the misunderstanding between NIPOST and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over stamp duty collection, he said, “it is a thing of the past which has been resolved with the passage of the amended Finance Act 2020. We work together for the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. The success of FIRS is our success and our success is theirs too. So, we serve the same country and whatever each Institutions generate is for the country and not for that Institution, so we have a cordial relationship with all of them”, he noted.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami in a group photograph with stakeholders while unveiling the NIPOST Revenue Stamp.

Dr. Pantami disclosed that there are plans to unbundle NIPOST into four companies— NIPOST Property and Development Company; NIPOST Transport and Logistics Company; NIPOST Courier Company; and the NIPOST Microfinance Bank— so as to transform the Post and generate money. He promised to do his best to ensure that a lot is achieved before the end of the year.

On called on the NIPOST staff to change the image of NIPOST, upgrade the post to world class standard, and increase revenue for government, so as to justify the increase of staff benefits.

Speaking, the Chairman, NIPOST Governing Board, Barr. Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, who assured management of Continued support, noted that the official unveiling of NIPOST Revenue Stamp represents a quantum leap in the reengineering efforts of the NIPOST aimed not only at repositioning the Agency for optimal performance and customer satisfaction but stimulating it strategically to punch above its weight category in effectively contributing to the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

“Today’s event is a testament that NIPOST is finally free from all forms of constraints (legal and fictional) to execute its mandate without let. The management therefore has the Board’s unalloyed support to be more innovative going forward”, she said.

Earlier in his welcome addres, the Postmaster-General, Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi said that about 25 million stamps will be rolled out in the first instance and will be exhausted in two weeks and production will continue.

He further noted that the minimum postage stamp as at today is N50 and if in the future the minimum postage stamp is increased, that will be the value that will become immediately operational for the purposes of denoting duties and transactions.

While fielding questions from Journalists, he said, “We are subsidizing the users as at now and so, I will not rule out the possibility that in the future the price will be increased based on the exigency of today. You will agree with me that rate of inflation, exchange rate and everything is going up. So, N50 is actually not such a huge amount of money.

Postmaster-General of the Federation, Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi
“Usually stamps are in various denominations and it depends on the value of transaction that you are doing. So, we will have N50, N100, N250, N500 and up to N1,000; that is the truth. The stamp that has been launched today is ready for sale”, he said.