7.5% VAT: Customers cry out, want CBN to caution banks over exploitations

Many bank customers have frowned on the 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on selected electronic banking services, saying taxes are becoming too much for citizens.

Some of them who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure that banks did not use the guise of VAT to exploit their customers.

The customers said that although VAT applied only to service fees, not to the amount transferred, the debits on their accounts were discouraging and could deter people from patronising banks.

Mrs Evelyn Oputa, a bank customer, decried that taxes and bank charges were becoming too much for ordinary Nigerians.

Oputa, who said that citizens were currently facing challenging times, appealed to the government to reduce VAT remittances.

“In December alone, I received a debit alert where I was charged N1,680 on SMS alone, and this month, stamp duty charges also increased.

“I bought something and also received a debit of N250 as stamp duty, NIP transfer, electronic money transfer levy, card maintenance fee and various other charges.

“I heard that the stamp duties collected by banks are being remitted to the government. Why do they still want banks to remit VAT?

“We, the customers, will be the ones at the receiving end,” she said.

Mr Akolam Nzeh, a bank customer, alleged that the government was only concerned with tax collection, not the well-being of citizens.

Nzeh urged the government to channel taxes into improving the country’s infrastructure.

“It’s like this year will be a year of taxes in this country. Everywhere you turn, you will hear tax.

“The worst part of this is that salaries did not increase, yet banks’ charges have kept increasing,” he said.

Another bank customer, Mr Segun Agboola, appealed to the CBN to monitor banks’ excesses and ensure they did not charge above what they should.

A banker who preferred anonymity said the bank would not exploit its customers through VAT remittances, as they were the basis for its existence.

NAN recalls that the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) mandated all financial institutions (commercial banks, microfinance banks, and electronic money transfer operators) to commence the collection and remittance of VAT from Jan. 19.

The tax would apply to various electronic banking charges, including Mobile banking transfer fees, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transaction fees, and card issuance and activation fees.

Others are Point of Sale (PoS) transaction fees and loan processing and documentation fees.

The VAT would be calculated on the service fee of a transaction, not the principal amount. (NAN)

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