Business News
Nigeria’s retail outlets risk CBN sanction, debit N50 PoS fee from customers
Investigations have disclosed that some retail outlets are still collecting N50 PoS Stamp Duty charge from customers despite CBN’s directive.
Following the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that N50 Point of Sale (PoS) Stamp Duty charge should be collected from businesses and not customers, some retail outlets are still collecting the fee.
The retail outlets in the e-payment value chain such as filling stations and supermarkets, which are supposed to be paying the Stamp Duty fee themselves as it is a merchant charge, not a customer charge, have continued to collect the illegal fee from customers.
In order to avoid dispute between customers, what some do is to add it directly to the customer’s purchases while others just put up a notice of the payment for customers to see before purchasing anything.
Speaking on the trend, the President of the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria, Uju Ogubunka, said that the actions being carried out by the businesses in spite of the CBN’s directive were condemnable and that it should stop.
He called on the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure compliance with the directive by marketers while also urging the CBN to ensure full compliance’s across retail shops.
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“I expect the CBN to move beyond its directive that bank customers reject the fee and fight for customers. Another option is for the customers to carry cash and avoid the fee where the risks are minimal.” Ogubunka said.
On the other hand, the CBN Director, Payment System Management Department, Musa Jimoh, according to The Nation, advised customers to reject the N50 PoS fee. He emphasized the fact that the stamp duty which is a fee regulated by an Act has been misinterpreted by many.
“Our circular that talks about merchants paying stamp duty according to the law does not say that the stamp duty should be paid by the consumer. That’s actually a misrepresentation of the CBN’s directive.
“What our directive says is that merchants should pay all necessary charges as regulated by the government agency, including stamp duty. When there is an electronic transaction to an account other than savings account and the transaction amount is more than N1,000, you have to pay stamp duty,” the CBN official said and quoted by The Nation.
What you should know: Data obtained from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Scheme disclosed that depositors across banks did transactions worth N97.32 trillion over the instant payment and Point of Sales (PoS) in the last 11 months.
While a total of N94.49 trillion worth transaction were conducted via the instant payment platform, another N2.83 trillion were carried out by banks’ depositors on the PoS platform within the same period under review.
Business News
Ecobank Transnational to hold AGM by proxies on June 30th
Due to the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic, ETI said the AGM will be held by proxies.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) has announced the date and venue of its 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM). According to a disclosure that was sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the company’s AGM and an Extraordinary Meeting are scheduled to hold on June 30th, 2020, at Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Due to the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic, ETI said the AGM will be held by proxies. The proxy AGM is expected to enable the Pan-African financial institution to abide by the directives issued by governments and agencies regarding COVID-19 and how to contain its spread.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, ETI intends to strictly comply with this restriction in addition to other applicable health and safety measures. Accordingly, attendance at this year’s General Meetings shall be mainly by proxies in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company and applicable law,” a statement by the company said.
To this end, shareholders have been advised to select any of the company’s top executives (including the Chairman, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, and the MD of Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan) to represent and vote on their behalf during the AGM. Proxy forms may be downloaded from the company’s website, filled, and submitted in advance.
Meanwhile, the issues that are up for discussion during the AGM and the Extra Ordinary meeting are enumerated below.
Annual General Meeting
1. Approval of the accounts
2. Appropriation of the Profits
3. Election of Directors
4. Ratification of the co-option of directors
5. Renewal of the appointment of the joint auditors
6. Approval of the Final Board Fees for Retiring Directors
Extraordinary General Meeting
1. Withdrawal of resolution on consolidation of shares
2. Amendment of the Articles
Note that in Q1 2020, ETI reported profited after-tax from continuing operation of N66.4 billion, marking a 19% decline when compared to N81.9 billion during the comparable period in 2019.
ETI’s share price on the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed Friday’s trading session at N5.55. The company has a market capitalisation of about N137.3 billion according to information obtained from Bloomberg.
Business News
NNPC explains measures to cut cost of crude oil production
Ewubare stated that NNPC was looking very closely at such variables as logistics, security, and transportation with a view to reducing the cost of production to $10 per barrel or below.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that it is taking some measures to bring down the cost of crude oil production to $10 per barrel or below.
According to a press statement that was signed by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, this was disclosed by the Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures and Business Development, Mr. Roland Ewubare, on a Channels TV breakfast programme on Friday, June 5, 2020.
Ewubare pointed out that the peculiarity of the terrain was an important factor in determining cost, with such issues as pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, and some others being critical factors that are peculiar to the Nigerian terrain and would definitely drive up crude oil production cost in the country.
He, however, stated that NNPC was looking very closely at such variables as logistics, security, and transportation with a view to reducing cost of production to $10 per barrel or below.
He disclosed that much had been done over the years in the area of reducing contracting cycle which used to be a major factor responsible for high cost of production, stressing that the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) achieved a six-month contracting cycle under him as Group General Manager.
Mr. Ewubare denied reports that Nigeria is part of OPEC+ member countries that did not comply with the output cut that was agreed by the alliance
Mr. Ewubare explained that though Nigeria’s total production capacity was 2.3million barrels per day, it was currently producing only about 1.4million barrels per day in compliance with the OPEC+ production quota, stressing that what makes up the little extra over the 1.4mbpd figure being bandied around for Nigeria was condensate which is usually not computed as part of production in OPEC quota.
While making some clarification, Ewubare said, “There’s some confusion in the market around the parameters for the production cuts. Nigeria has a full production capacity of about 2.3mbpd. We are currently producing between 1.6 and 1.7mbpd. Our OPEC quota as a result of the cuts is about 1.4mbpd. You and I know that condensate is not included in the computation of the cut numbers. So what we have is 1.4mbpd of crude oil. The little you see above 1.4mbpd is made up of condensate which does not count as part of the basis for assessing our OPEC quota”.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, in a recent interview, advanced a similar position where he stressed that NNPC was working assiduously to bring down the cost of crude oil production to not more than $10 per barrel by 2021.
Business News
NNPC raises alarm over low grade, contaminated diesel in the market
This warning was contained in a report by the Managing Director, NNPC Retail Limited Managing Director, Dr. Billy Okoye, who also admonished motorists to be careful of the off-spec products.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has raised alarm over the circulation of low grade and contaminated AGO, popularly known as diesel, which is offered at discounted prices in some parts of the country.
This was disclosed in a press release by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, on Friday June 5, 2020.
This warning was contained in a report by the Managing Director, NNPC Retail Limited Managing Director, Dr. Billy Okoye, who also admonished motorists to be careful of the off-spec products.
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The state oil giant, in the press statement, said, “The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has raised an alarm over prevalent low grade and contaminated AGO, otherwise called diesel, offered at discounted prices in parts of the country.”
Dr. Okoye, stated that the warning became necessary because the low grade contaminated diesel is harmful to machines and the environment. He explained that NNPC Retail Ltd is a market leader and therefore considered it incumbent upon it to alert the general public on the circulation of these low grade products.
While urging consumers of the product to patronize the oil firm’s service stations where the quality of their products was assured, Dr. Okoye gave assurances that NNPC Retail Limited dealt only in premium high-quality products in the interest of Nigerian motorists and users.
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Unlike the premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol, which was operating a fixed price regime and had NNPC as the sole importer, the diesel products were deregulated and had other independent marketers apart from NNPC importing the products as well.
The intense competition and unhealthy drive for profit, in addition to poor regulation, could have given rise to this.
Ogbeche Augustine
January 2, 2020 at 9:02 pm
This issue of Bank the C.B.N SHOULD COME up with a strong hand so that this rubbish we stop i went to my bank G T BANK today and there are still talking that THE C.B.N directive can not work there should obey the rule of law
PapaRash
January 3, 2020 at 10:34 pm
The CBN as a regulatory body is making the whole issue messy.
You have directed that merchants pay N50 stamp duty on products you don’t have fixed and regulated prices on and the merchant in turn increases prices on his products.
What is the fuse about the increase? Can Emiefele run his own business and accept this directive when cost has been push to him?
Which part of my business does CBN support me? Running capital, insurance, staff salaries, rentage, security etc.
To me, the apex bank is confused.