Labour urges Presidency, FIRS to disregard grandstanding, disinformation by failed experts

By allcitynews.ng

That the management team of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced the realisation of N65 billion revenue from stamp duty may not be news again to some people. But the fresh news now is the call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the management team of FIRS against failed experts parading themselves at the corridor of power.

The leadership of senior Nigerian Civil Service Union under the umbrella of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), the Secretary General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal who made this warning pointed out that the Presidency, the management team of the FIRS itself, and the general public should disregard the grandstanding and disinformation being propagated by failed experts including rabble rousers masquerading as Trade Unionists trying to disparage the high profile performance of the revenue Agency.

“Indeed, these retrogressive elements desperately seeking relevance and public attention should be declared persona non-grata in a strategic organ of the Federal Government such as the FIRS,” the Union emphasized.

According to the ASCSN, Section 4(1) of the Stamp Duty Act, vests the FIRS with sole authority to impose, charge and collect Stamp Duties upon instruments specified in the schedule of the Stamp Duties Act where such duties relate to matters between a company and an individual, group or body of individuals.

“The relevant tax authority in a state, by Section 4(2) of the Stamp Duties Act is empowered to collect Stamp Duties on instruments executed by individuals at such rate as may be determined by the Act.

“Previously, the FIRS collected Stamp Duties on instruments executed by an individual resident in the Federal Capital Territory.  However, this has ceased upon the creation of the FCT Internal Revenue Service,” the statement added.

The ASCSN posited that what should become self-evident from the above was that all relevant legal instruments on Stamp Duties collection are vested on the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

It enjoined the management team and the staff of the Agency to keep up the good work and ensure that by the end of this year, revenue collected from Stamp Duties should be unparalled in the history of the organisation so far in order to continue to shame detractors.

The warning followed the announcement by the management team of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of considerably boosting Federal Government revenue through stamp duty collection.

According to FIRS, the agency within the first five months of this year, remitted N66 billion generated from Stamp Duty collection to the Federation Account.