The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has advised Nigerians against paying N50 alleged service charges after making payments of a transaction through Point Of Sale, POS, machines.
Speaking on a Channels Television interview program monitored by the Guardian, a Director at the apex bank, Musa Jimoh said, “no single individual should pay N50 in addition to the cost of the good”.
According to him, only the businesses using the POS are to be deducted N50 stamp duty per payment received through the machine and not customers.
Mr Jomoh, therefore, regretted how these business owners are now transferring the burden onto the customers.
“Stamp duty is not to be paid by individuals that are consuming the goods and services of the merchant. The merchants who are receiving the money are the ones who are supposed to pay.”
“What has happened is that they (banks) have transferred this fee, blatantly and openly to the consumers. This is very wrong,” Jimoh said.
“Our explanation to banks is that we would like the merchants to comply with this directive by ensuring that every single payment customers make to them, the merchants pay the regulated stamp duty of N50.”
He explained that stamp duty is a fee regulated by an act which is not regulated by the CBN.
“Our circular that talks about merchants paying stamp duty according to the law does not say that the stamp duty should be paid by the consumer. That’s actually a misrepresentation of the CBN’S directive.”
Mr Jimoh said CBN’s directives is that merchants should pay all necessary charges as regulated by the government agency including stamp duty.
