The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has slammed a N50 stamp duty on some WhatsApp messages, SMS, and messages via any electronic platform acknowledging receipt of funds.

The agency said this includes every electronic receipt for, or electronic transfer of, money deposited with any bank or with any banker in any type of account of an amount from N10, 000 upwards.

It stated that this shall be a singular or one-off duty of the sum of N50. “Stamp duty upon receipt (written, printed or in electronic form) for transactions between corporate bodies or between a corporate body and an individual, group or body of individuals, which amounts to N10,000 and above, shall be denoted by payment of N50 per receipt to the service.

This declaration was made by FIRS Executive Chairman, Muhammad Nami, on the tax agency’s website. He added that stamp duties will be paid on “POS receipts, fiscalised device receipts, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) print-outs.”

The circular went further to categorically state that all receipts, either printed or electronically generated, or any form of electronic acknowledgement of money transactions, will attract the stamp duty of N50.

The agency also clarified that it is the only body authorised to collect such duties because “the Federal Inland Revenue Service is the only competent authority to impose, charge, and collect duties upon instruments specified in the schedule to this act if such instrument relates to matters executed between a company and an individual, group or body of individuals.”

The instruments subject to charge, as listed in the circular, include; fixed duty instruments such as Power of Attorney, Certificate of Attorney, Proxy forms, Appointment of receivers, Memorandum of Understanding, Joint Venture Agreements, Guarantors form, Ordinary agreements and Receipts; and Ad-valorem instruments such as Tenancy or lease agreements, legal mortgage or debentures, Sales agreements and Deed of assignments.