A popular financial technology company in Nigeria, Opay, has started charging its customers levies on account of engaging in electronic transfers into personal and business accounts in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service regulations.
This was contained in a notice sent to its customers on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
The statement reads thus : “Dear valued customers, please be informed that starting September 9, 2024, a one-time fee of N50 will be applied for electronic transfers of N10,000 and above, paid into your personal or business account in compliance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service regulations.”
The company made it known to its customers that the reason for the collection of the charges is based on governments directive as a requirement from them and not a new source of revenue for their platform.
“It is important to note that OPay does not benefit from these charges in any way, as it is directed entirely to the Federal Government,” the notice read.
Customers of other financial technology companies like Moniepoint and PalmPay have also reported that they have started implementing the charges also.
The introduction of the new levy follows the Federal Government’s efforts to generate revenue from electronic transactions through FIRS regulations.
The former Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, issued the Electronic Money Transfer Levy Regulations, 2022, under her authority, pursuant to Section 89A(3) of the Stamp Duties Act Cap. S8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (SDA), as amended by the Finance Act, 2021.
These regulations provide guidance for the administration, collection, imposition and remittance of the Electronic Money Transfer Levy which was introduced by the Finance Act, 2020, where key provisions include a one-time levy of N50 on the recipient of any electronic receipts or transfers of N10,000 and above.
Transfers made in other currencies, the levy will be charged at exchange rates determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria; the FIRS is responsible for assessing, collecting, and accounting for the levy.
The regulation says that the receiving banks are required to collect and remit the l+evy to the FIRS by the next working day or on a date prescribed by the FIRS, while for walk-in customers without accounts, the levy must be deducted from the amount payable.
Banks are also requested to compulsorily prepare daily lists of cancelled or reversed transactions, detailing the transferee’s name, transaction amounts, levies deducted, and amounts reversed or cancelled.
Levies on reversed or cancelled transactions should be deducted from the next day’s collections and returned to affected customers or victims respectively.
Banks are defined under the regulations as “a deposit money bank or financial institution referred to under Section 89A of the SDA, including all banks and other financial institutions defined under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020.”
Additionally, banks must keep and present records of all electronic transfers on which levies are collected for a minimum of seven years.
The provisions of the regulation also stated that banks that fail to collect the levy will face a penalty of 150 per cent of the levy not collected, while If a bank collects the levy but fails to remit it, the bank will be liable for the levy, plus a 50 per cent penalty and interest at the CBN’s Monetary Policy Rate.
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