16-Sep. 2020
Nigeria’s first Stamp Duty legislation dates back to 1948. As the name implies, it provided for a stamp to be affixed to a wide range of documents, from receipts to agreements for loans and mortgages. The provisions of this act were known by only a few Nigerians, for instance, people seeking to perfect titles for lands. The idea was that if you are not involved in transactions such as selling property or contracting mortgages which involve drafting and signing documents to be admissible in a court, you do not have to border with stamp duty. This is no longer the case, as the law has resurrected, through an amendment to the Stamp Duty Act of 2004 contained in the 2020 Finance Act. Simple things like giving receipts or paying rents now require affixing adhesive stamps to relevant documents or paying stamp duty. SMEs should not be caught unawares.