The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has ordered business owners to stop deducting additional N50 charges from customers who use the point of sales (POS) machine.
This follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s clarification on Monday after its directive was misinterpreted.
The apex bank said “Stamp duty is not to be paid by individuals that are consuming the goods and services of the merchants, the merchants who are receiving the money are the ones who are supposed to pay.”
The FCCPC, in a directive signed by its Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, described the charge as counterproductive as it negated the effort of the apex bank to promote a cashless economy.
He said, “Businesses, by their very nature, already capture the operating cost price of their goods and services.
“To impose an additional fee on consumers that is exclusive of price and discriminates based on the selected mode of payment essentially amounts to a penalty for the adopted mode of payment.
“The problems associated with carrying excessive cash in order to avoid a penalty are myriad and multifaceted.”
He added, “Accordingly, the commission welcomes the CBN’s definitive statement on December 23rd, 2019, clarifying its September 17, 2019 directive by Circular Ref. PSM/Dir/CON/02/015 that the directive did not intend to pass such fees to consumers.”
He said based on engagement with the CBN, it was “inappropriate and illegal for businesses to pass a stamp duty cost of doing their business to consumers.”
He added, “Effectively, and in furtherance of this clarification, merchants are now prohibited from penalising or otherwise assessing any duty, costs or assessment characterised as ‘stamp duty’ on consumers who select point of sale options to conclude their purchases or transactions.”
He said the directive was being issued pursuant to Section 18 (2) of the FCCPC Act which prohibits any of such assessments.
Irukera said the commission, in collaboration with CBN, other relevant regulators and law enforcement authorities would enforce the law to its fullest.
He urged consumers to report any violations when they occured with evidence of such deductions.
(C) Control TV 2019.
