The Federal Government has revealed that N43 billion collected as stamp duty from domestic transactions is currently held by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, explained that the funds are with the CBN due to an ongoing legal dispute between the Nigerian Postal Service (NPS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over who should manage the funds.

Ahmed further mentioned that the recently passed Finance Bill has resolved this issue, assigning the FIRS as the official custodian of the funds. She explained, “The CBN holds about N43 billion, but the new Finance Act, passed by the National Assembly, includes an amendment to the Stamp Duties Act, determining how the funds should be collected.”

The minister added that the legal conflict between NPS and FIRS delayed the revenue from being transferred to the government, as banks charged N50 for transfers, but the funds were not properly remitted. However, with the new law, FIRS will now be responsible for collecting the revenue, allowing it to be remitted to the government promptly.

Meanwhile, the Senate has directed its Committee on Finance to investigate why N20 trillion collected by banks and financial institutions as stamp duty revenue between 2013 and 2016 was not deposited into the Federation Account.