The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the N50 being charged Nigerians who use Point of Sale (POS) machines for transactions, is a misinterpretation of its directive by rogue merchants.

CBN Director of Payment System Management, Musa Jimoh said today that no one should pay extra on goods and services.

He was speaking on Channels Television’s Business Morning programme on Friday. Owners of Petrol stations have been the only merchants asking consumers who pay with cards to pay the extra N50.

Jimoh explained that the N50 stamp duty is a fee regulated by an act that directs merchants to pay all necessary taxes as regulated by government agencies.

Godwin Emefiele, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) : Directive on stamp duty misinterpreted by merchants

“Stamp duty has been misinterpreted. Our circular that talks about merchants paying stamp duties according to the law does not say that the stamp duty should be paid by the consumer; that is a misrepresentation of CBN directive.

“What our directive says is that merchants should pay all necessary tax as regulated by government agencies including stamp duty.

“What we told the merchants is that we would like the banks to ensure that the merchants comply with this directive by ensuring that every single payment that customers make to them, the merchants pay the regulated stamp duty of N50.

“What has happened is that they have actually transferred this fee blatantly and openly to the consumers; this is very wrong. No single individual should pay N50 in addition to the cost of the goods.

“Stamp duty is not to be paid by individuals that are consuming the goods and services of the merchants, the merchants who are receiving the money are the ones who are supposed to pay.”

Mr. Jimoh explained that because the stamp duty is not regulated by the CBN, there are no plans to stop stamp duties.

“Stamp duty is not a CBN regulated fee, it is a fee regulated by an act, and so we can’t change or push anything in that direction.

“The stamp duty remains and cannot be changed by the CBN, what we are doing is to ensure that the institutions we regulate (the banks) become more responsible to ensure that these fees are collected and given to the government”, he said.