Mr Tokunbo Akande, Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, LIRS, has clarified the misunderstanding about stamp duty as he maintained that it is a revenue stamp and not a postage stamp.

Akande made this known while featuring as a guest on The Tax Talk programme on Channels Television recently.

He said contrary to public opinion, stamp is not just for courier services as it is meant to certify the underlying transaction between two entities, whether they are corporate entities or individuals, thus, the framework for stamp duty is to verify the documents for underlying transactions and ensure that they are admissible in court in case any disputes arise.

Akande noted; “It’s interesting to note that stamp duty, a tax law that dates back to 1939, is still in effect today. Although it was reenacted in 2004 and has been updated over time through the Finance Act, the basic premise remains the same.

“Stamp duty places the responsibility on those involved in certain transactions to provide documentation that explains the details of the transaction. For example, if someone purchases an item from another person, a receipt is given to show the transaction.

“This receipt must be stamped to be considered admissible evidence in court in case any disputes arise. In the past, the postal stamp was used to denote the stamp duty.”

Akande, who noted that Stamp duty has contributed significantly to revenue generation in Lagos State, as the state has generated over N5 million from stamp duty over the past few years, said the agency believes there is still room for improvement.

While stating that the agency is considering the introduction of revenue stamps for wholesalers and distributors for receipts over N10,000 in the state, he noted; “This approach was previously utilized in the 1970s, and we are eager to revitalize it. We are fully committed to engagement and process improvement.

He said the agency has taken the step of digitizing its stamp duty operation by transitioning from manual to electronic processes.

According to Akande, “The Joint Tax Board (JTB), which oversees all Internal Revenue Services (IRSs), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), customs, immigration, and other related bodies, has been at the forefront of promoting awareness about stamp duty in general.

“LIRS (Lagos State Internal Revenue Service) has also made significant efforts in this area by holding town hall meetings, issuing public notices and guidance notes, and engaging with professional bodies.

“However, despite these efforts, the message has not been fully received. It is important to note that the law requires that all transactions between two entities must be stamped, and even items such as cheques have a small stamp on them.

“This is because they may be admissible in court. Therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that any documents related to transactions above a certain level of expenses are properly stamped, as failure to do so renders them as ordinary paper.

He said LIRS has expanded its presence across various states, with offices conveniently located to better serve taxpayers as its officials are proud to offer assistance with legal proceedings and have desks located in all the courts of Lagos.

“Our team of experts ensures that all necessary documents are properly stamped and verified by the commissioner for stamp duty. We take record-keeping seriously, as it helps to ensure the authenticity of all documents that pass through our hands.

“Proper stamping of documents is essential, whether you’re borrowing money from a bank or renting a property. Failure to do so could render them inadmissible in court. We are here to help certify your documents and ensure they have the necessary stamps to make them legally binding,” Akande submitted.

Truecaller has announced a corporate rebranding and launch of a brand new app icon that will be instantly recognisable on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The taming of the new brand identity aligns with a significant transformation taking place in the digital space. At the heart of this rebranding is Truecaller’s renewed sense of purpose, energy and enthusiasm.

Commenting on the announcement, Alan Mamedi, Co- founder and CEO, Truecaller said, “We are excited to unveil our new brand identity and logo. It signifies our continued commitment to our users and our focus to constantly evolve and improve, every day.”

“Our mission, to protect communication for all, is what guides us to develop new anti-fraud solutions like Search Context and engineer improvements to improve user privacy,” he added.

As part of this refreshed identity, Truecaller users also get a powerful new anti-fraud feature called Search Context, as a part of the Truecaller AI Identity engine.

While looking at the search results for any number, Truecaller users will be instantly notified if the name for the number has been recently changed or is being changed frequently.

The app also classifies this contextual message into three colour categories: blue, for a neutral change, yellow, which indicates a potentially suspicious name change and finally red, indicating multiple and frequent name changes which are highly indicative of fraudulent and scammer activity.

This message will be shown to all Truecaller users on all search results across Android, iPhone and Truecaller web.

Dr Olayemi Cardoso, on Friday, formally assumed duty as the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to a statement by Isa AbdulMumin, CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Cardoso’s resumption in acting capacity is pending his confirmation by the Senate.

“This follows the resignation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the CBN,

“Similarly, the Deputy-Governors-designate have also assumed duty, in acting capacities.

“This is sequel to the formal resignation of Mr Folashodun Shonubi, Mrs Aishah Ahmad, Mr Edward Adamu and Dr Kingsley Obiora as deputy governors.

“Cardoso and his colleagues subscribed to the relevant oaths of office at a brief ceremony held at the Bank’s Head Office in Abuja,” AbdulMumin said.

He said that they had since settled down to the task of administering monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Cardoso was nominated by President Bola Tinubu as CBN governor on Sept. 15.

Tinubu also nominated Emem Usoro, Abdullahi Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala Bello as deputy governors