THE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has reportedly asked the Nigerian banks to deduct a 0.375 per cent stamp duty charge on all mortgaged-backed loans and bonds.
Access Bank disclosed this in a notice sent to its customers on Thursday, May 2, stating that the directive took effect immediately.
The notification also contained that the directive did not affect old loans with already agreed terms and conditions.
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The ICIR could not reach Access Bank for confirmation when filing the report as the phone line of its investor’s relations contact person, Babatunde Adesugba, did not connect.
However, the statement read, “We would like to inform you that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has directed all Nigerian banks to implement stamp duty on certain transactions that require duty payments such as contracts and legal mortgages.
“To this end, a stamp duty charge of 0.375 per cent will be applied to loans backed by legal mortgage, shares, debentures, or bonds. The charge will be applied on the value of the legal mortgage, shares, debentures or bonds and remitted to the Federal Inland Revenue Services,” Access Bank stated.
According to the bank, in compliance with this directive, it has taken measures to streamline the process to make transactions more convenient for its customers.
“However, all previously approved loans will remain unchanged and should be repaid in full as per the agreed terms and conditions,” it added.
The ICIR reports that a mortgage-backed loan is a loan that banks extend to individuals or entities to buy a home and repay the loan amount over time with interest, while stamp duty is a levy charged on physical and electronic instruments or documents.
In January this year, the FIRS directed banks to deduct N50 as an electronic money transfer levy (ETML) from foreign currency (FCY) transactions.