FIRS to banks: deduct 0.375% stamp duty levy on mortgage loans

Federal Inland Revenue (FIRS) has directed banks to deduct 0.375 percent stamp duty levy on all mortgage loans and bonds. The FIRS gave the directive to the banks, which in turn, sent out the directive to their customers. In an electronic message, one of the banks wrote to its customers informing them of the deduction. The message reads: “We would like to inform you that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has directed all Nigerian banks to implement stamp duty on certain transactions that require duty payments, such as contracts and legal mortgages.

“In compliance with this directive, we have taken measures to streamline the process to make transactions more convenient for you. To this end, a stamp duty charge of 0.375 percent will be applied to loans backed by legal mortgages, shares, debentures, or bonds. The charge will be applied to the value of the legal mortgage, shares, debts, or bonds and remitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Services.”