The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has written 36 states governors urging them to comply with audit and recovery of back years of stamp duty from 15th January, 2016 to 30th June, 2020, by cooperating with the appointed recovery agents as there has not been recovery yet.
In a statement by Umar Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media to the Attorney General on Wednesday, Malami urged the governors to grant access to the appointed recovery agents for the purpose of recovery stamp duty as outlined by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The statement stated that the letters were written pursuant to the provision of Section 111 of the Stamp Duty Act which provides that “all duties, fines, penalties and debts due to the Government of the Federation imposed by this Act shall be recoverable in a summarily manner in the name of the Attorney General of the Federation or the State.”
The statement read: “Pursuant to Mr. President’s approval and directives, I also wish to request Your Excellency to direct the state ministries, departments, agencies, and regulatory institutions of financial sector to engage and grant access to the appointed Recovery Agents for the purpose of the audit and recovery of stamp duty to ensure that all established liabilities are remitted as appropriate,” the letter read in part.
The recoveries are being conducted for the federal ministries, departments, agencies and financial institutions.
At this stage liabilities are being established, and no actual recovery has been made, the statement said.
It noted that Section 111 of the Stamp Duty Act grants the Attorney General of the Federation an exclusive power to recover any outstanding payment or remittances related to stamp duty.
Gwandu said what the Attorney General of the Federation did was to activate those powers, conduct the audit and recovery of back years stamp duty in collaboration with stakeholders.
He said the federal government of Nigeria has set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee on audit and recovery of back years stamp duties from 15th January, 2016 to 30th June, 2020.
Members of the committee were drawn from Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in collaboration with relevant agencies, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission, among others.
The statement said in view of the need to provide a comprehensive overview of the process and to proper understanding the task, the Attorney General of the Federation organised a meeting with Attorneys General of States for they have similar powers with respect of stamp duty in their respective states.
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