Stamp Duty: FIRS Clears Air on Tenancy/Lease Agreement

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says the 6% stamp duty charge on tenancy previously announced will only apply to tenancy and lease agreements that are above 21 years.

Speaking on Saturday at a webinar organised by OTISVIP, Muhammad Nami (pictured), the FIRS executive chairman, said stamp duty charges on tenancy and lease agreements would be graduated.

The webinar was themed ‘Stamp Duty: The New Black Gold?’. Thus, tenancy and lease agreements less than seven years would carry 0.78% stamp duty while agreements between seven and 21 years will carry a 3% charge.

According to a statement by Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, director of FIRS communications and liaison department, Nami said Nigerians should accept the fact that the country can no longer rely solely on crude revenue to fund the budget, hence the need to embrace taxation as the new normal of national fiscal policy.