The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has called on Nigerians to disregard the claim by the Nigeria Postal Service, NIPOST, that it (NIPOST) has the sole right to print and sell stamps among other responsibilities.
FIRS declared that the claim by the postal service agency was not only misleading, but a disservice to the government and people of Nigeria.
In a series of tweets, the Board Chairman, NIPOST, Maimuna Abubakar, had claimed that the new directives by FIRS on stamp duty amounted to usurping NIPOST power and a theft of its idea.
But reacting to the claim in a statement issued on Monday by its Director, Communications and Liaison Department, Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, FIRS said the allegation by NIPOST was totally untrue.
FIRS asserted that contrary to the claim, it had the sole power to assess, collect and account for all tax types including Stamp Duties.
The clarification as contained in the statement reads:
“Surely, NIPOST is a government parastatal established by decree 41 of 1992 with the function to: develop, promote, and provide adequate and efficiently coordinated postal services at reasonable rates . This function is clearly contrary to the claim by NIPOST over the administration of stamp duties in Nigeria.
“On the other hand, FIRS is the sole agency of government charged with the responsibility of assessing, collecting, and accounting for all tax types including Stamp Duties.”
Expressing shock over the postal service agency’s claim, FIRS said it was wrong to “cast aspersions on reputable institutions like the National Assembly and the FIRS, which she accused of stealing NIPOST idea.”
FIRS described the position of NIPOST as a disservice to the government and people of Nigeria.
The statement reads further: “We wish to state categorically that, as an agency that operates within the ambit of the law, FIRS is determined to not only ensure that all monies collected by NIPOST into its illegally operated Stamp Duties Account are fully remitted into the Federation Account but also make sure that any N1 not accounted for in that account is legally recovered. And that anyone found culpable of misappropriating the funds in that account would be prosecuted.”
