Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday overturned a Federal High Court (FHC) ruling that had ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pay Kasmal International Services N579 billion for its role in stamp duty collection.
Delivering the majority judgment in a 2:1 decision, Justice Adebukola Banjoko sided with the CBN, stating, “Kasmal lacked the legal authority to initiate the suit or claim any entitlement, as NIPOST had no statutory power to delegate stamp duty collection.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the FHC, under Justice Inyang Ekwo, had on October 11, 2024, mandated the CBN to pay Kasmal N579,130,698,440, with a 10% annual interest from January 1, 2015, to January 31, 2020, for its role in collecting a N50 charge on bank transactions of N1,000 and above, as per the Stamp Duties Act and Nigerian Financial Regulations 2009.
Ekwo noted that the CBN had already paid Kasmal N10.3 billion, representing 15% of stamp duties collected by Deposit Money Banks via the CBN NIPOST Stamp Duty Collection Account.
Kasmal’s counsel, Alex Izinyon, SAN, defended the company’s contract with NIPOST, arguing it was legally appointed to collect stamp duties.
However, the CBN and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), represented by Chief Niyi Akintola, filed a 17-ground appeal on October 24, 2024, asserting that the FHC “erred in law.”
Akintola argued, “Stamp duties are public funds under Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, meant for the Federation Account and shared among government tiers, not for private entities like Kasmal.”
Justice Banjoko ruled, “The suit is fundamentally defective. NIPOST lacked the authority to engage Kasmal, rendering any contract void from the start.” She set aside the FHC’s judgment entirely. In contrast, Justice Okong Abang dissented, stating, “The CBN, having paid Kasmal N10.3 billion under the contract ratified by the AGF, cannot now deny Kasmal’s entitlement.
Unjust enrichment principles demand compensation.” Abang dismissed the appeal, arguing it lacked merit.
NAN noted that stamp duty, an indirect tax on financial transactions, generated N370.686 billion for the Federal Government from 2016 to 2022, as disclosed by former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele in 2023. Kasmal had sought the FHC’s intervention to clarify its share under its agreement with NIPOST.
