The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says Nigerians will now pay stamp duties on WhatsApp messages, SMS, and messages via any electronic platform acknowledging receipt of funds.
The revenue service also stated that stamp duties will be paid on “POS receipts, fiscalised device receipts, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) print-outs”.
According to an information circular published by the agency, and seen by TheCable, Nigerians will also be required to pay stamp duties on SMS acknowledging receipt of funds.
FIRS gave illustrations of situations where Nigerians are expected to pay stamp duties, one of them says: “ABZ Ltd’s chief accounting officer, after receiving a cash payment of N500,000 from Mr. XYZ on behalf of ABZ Ltd., composed a message which reads: ‘receipt of N500,000 is hereby acknowledged’ and sent same to Mr. XYZ via WhatsApp messenger”.
“In this case, the WhatsApp message acknowledging the receipt of N500,000 constitutes a receipt for which stamp duty is payable.
