In line with its promise to deliver more value to its customers, Nigerian financial powerhouse, Access Bank, has issued a statement stating that it will be rescinding its position on the deduction of 3-months accrued stamp duty from its customers. The tier-1 Bank first made this known through a press a statement first issued on its social media platforms on Sunday.
Expressing empathy with the inconvenience the debiting brought upon customers, the Bank said, it has “heard customers’ feedback that this charge is unwelcome, especially as it coincides with the challenging economic backdrop.” “We have considered your feedback and have decided to pay the Stamp Duty on our customers’ behalf for the affected period only. Hence, all individuals and SMEs who were debited for the accumulated Stamp Duty charge for February to April 2020 will be refunded,” the statement read further.
This development follows the Bank’s notification to customers through an email sent on June 23, 2020 informing all that it “will be required to process the accumulated charges” incurred between February 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020.
It is worthy of note that Stamp Duty collection is in compliance with the mandate of the ‘Finance Act, 2019 (Stamp Duty Act, Cap S8)’, a law that mandates financial institutions to debit N50 for all credits received into current and savings accounts in respect to electronic transfer and teller deposits of N10,000 and above. All of the funds collected are remitted to the Federal Government.
“While we still have to remit these funds via the CBN to the Federal Government, we realize that we got it wrong by debiting our customers late, and we are refunding the affected stamp duty charge today to all affected customers,” the Bank said.
The Bank has further encouraged its customers to send a mail to contactcentre@accessbankplc.com should they have any further enquiries regarding the Stamp Duty charge.
