Business

FG orders banks, fintechs to remit VAT on service fees

Published

3 months ago

January 15, 2026

The Federal Government has directed all banks and fintechs to collect and remit 7.5 per cent value-added tax VAT on certain electronic banking services, effective Monday, January 19, 2026, according to an email notice issued by payment platforms.

The VAT will apply to electronic banking charges, including mobile money transfers, USSD transaction fees, and card issuance fees, according to an email notice on Wednesday shared with customers by Moniepoint.

For example, if a bank charges N100 to make a transfer, the 7.5 per cent VAT will be applied to that service fee, not the money being sent.

“From Monday, January 19, 2026, we are required to collect a 7.5 per cent VAT, to be remitted to the Nigerian Revenue Service (formerly known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service).

“VAT will apply to certain banking services that include electronic banking charges such as mobile banking fees (transfers), USSD transaction fees, and card issuance fees,” the email read.

Other operators are expected to issue similar notices to their customers in the coming days. Services that will remain exempt include interest earned on deposits and savings, meaning customers will not pay tax on the returns from their accounts.

The NRS, formerly known as the Federal Inland Revenue Service, has set the deadline to ensure that all commercial banks, microfinance banks, and electronic money operators comply with the collection and remittance requirement.

Moniepoint stressed that this is not a price increase but a statutory obligation. “Moniepoint is required to collect and remit VAT to the Nigerian Revenue Service,” the company said in a statement.

The move is part of the government’s broader efforts to standardise VAT collection on digital financial services and expand revenue generation amid Nigeria’s growing digital economy. VAT on banking transactions is not entirely new; the NRS is now enforcing uniform collection rules across all platforms, ensuring compliance across the sector.

Customers have been assured that the new tax will be clearly itemised, with the VAT shown separately on transaction statements and reports.

In December, several commercial banks informed customers that the N50 stamp duty would be deducted on electronic transfers of N10,000 and above, following the commencement of provisions of the new Tax Act.

The charge, previously known as the EMTL, has now been formally reclassified as stamp duty and will be applied as a one-off fee on qualifying electronic transfers.

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Business

Job losses loom as more Inland Container Terminals shut down

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Massive job losses loom following the shutdown of ITC Container Terminals, Alliance Container Terminal, and Creseada Container Terminals, all in Lagos, due to lack of business and patronage from seaport terminals at Apapa and Tin-Can Ports.

Disclosing this to Tribune Online exclusively in Lagos, the general secretary of the Association of Bonded Terminals Operators of Nigeria, Mr Haruna Omolajomo, explained that out of over 40 Inland Container Terminals in Lagos, only a few are still operating, albeit below an optimal level.

According to Mr. Haruna Omolajomo, “In Lagos alone, we have over 40 indigenous bonded terminals operating and they have spent more than N5trillion to equip their terminals in terms of infrastructure and machinery.

“I can tell you authoritatively that none of the over 40 indigenous bonded terminals are operating beyond 10 percent due to non-patronage.

“Many have borrowed money from commercial banks to equip their container terminals and due to a lack of patronage from shipping companies and seaport terminal operators, they are struggling to repay bank loans.

“For some that are lucky, they are battling high blood pressure. For some, who are not lucky, they are already six feet below the ground.”

On the numbers of inland container terminal operators that have shut down in Lagos, the General Secretary of the Association of Bonded Terminals Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Haruna Omolajomo, revealed that, “Some inland container terminal operators have shut down.

“We have ITC Container Terminals, Alliance Container Terminal and Creseada Bonded Terminals. This operators are no longer in operation. Between these three bonded terminals, they employed 400 staff in all, and all the workers have been laid off.

“Currently, we have some that are operating below five percent and may close shop any time soon. I am talking about Mid Maritime Container Terminal, Port Express Container Terminal, Duncan Container Terminal and Sapid Container Terminal.

“They are all operating below 5 percent and have between them close to 800 workers. They can fold up anytime from now if the situation persists like this, and that means more workers off jobs.”

On likely way forward, Mr. Omolajomo explained that the federal government needs to make a law that allows indigenous container terminal operators to have a certain percentage pf cargoes stemmed to them from the ports.

“We have tried all we could to get government attention in the past. We have gone to the Presidency. We have gone to the National Assembly.

“Sometime ago, the National Assembly set up a panel of enquiry headed by Senator Olugbenga Obadara. At the end of the day, it all amounted to nothing.

“Up till now, we are not relaxing. We are still making efforts to get government attention, and our demand is that we are not saying government should not have anything to do with these foreign companies, but should respect local content and allow us to also do business.

“When cargoes arrive at the ports, the government should ensure that indigenous bonded terminals get 30 percent of such cargoes.

“The government needs to make a policy that it’s a MUST that port operators patronize indigenous container terminals.

“When indigenous bonded terminals get cargoes from the port operators, it will increase the revenue that is accruable to the federal government. This is aside from creating jobs for more Nigerians.”

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Business

CBN increases ATM card issuance fee

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the fee for the issuance or replacement of ATM cards from ₦1,000 to ₦1,500, with effect from May 1, 2026.

The adjustment is contained in a revised Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions released by the apex bank on Thursday, as part of efforts to standardise and improve transparency in the financial system.

According to the CBN, the new fee applies to standard ATM cards issued by all regulated institutions, including commercial banks, microfinance banks, payment service banks, and mobile money operators.

The regulator, however, clarified that no maintenance fee will be charged on naira-denominated debit or credit cards, while virtual cards will continue to be issued at no cost.

“The Guide aims to enhance flexibility, standardisation, transparency and competition in the Nigerian financial system,” the CBN stated.

Under the revised framework, point-of-sale (POS) payments by customers will remain free, with the merchant bearing a service charge of 0.5 per cent per transaction, capped at ₦10,000.

The CBN also retained provisions allowing banks to charge for SMS transaction alerts strictly on a cost-recovery basis, while mandating that email alerts be provided free of charge.

For electronic transfers, transactions of ₦5,000 and below will remain free, while transfers between ₦5,000 and ₦50,000 will attract a ₦10 fee, and those above ₦50,000 will cost ₦50.

On ATM withdrawals, customers using another bank’s ATM will be charged ₦100 for every ₦20,000 withdrawn at on-site machines, while off-site ATMs may attract an additional surcharge of up to ₦500 per transaction, subject to disclosure.

The CBN further stated that current account maintenance charges will be capped at 0.5 per mille in 2026, with a phased reduction to zero by 2027.

It added that account reactivation and certain routine services will remain free, while any new charges or services not listed in the guide must receive prior approval from the apex bank.

The revised guidelines replace the previous version issued in January 2020 and form part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening consumer protection and ensuring fairness in banking charges across the country.

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Business

Dangote official revealed that Nigeria’s petrol, diesel are subsidised

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

A senior management official of the Dangote Group on Monday revealed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has been subsidising the petrol and diesel it sells to the Nigerian market.

According to the official, who spoke to our correspondent in confidence due to the lack of authorisation to speak, the company’s N1,200/litre ex-depot price for petrol is below the competitive market price, considering the jump in crude prices following the US-Iran war.

The PUNCH reports that the war in the Middle East triggered an oil price surge when the Strait of Hormuz was blocked by Iran. From $66 per barrel on February 28, Brent, the global benchmark for crude, jumped above $100 a barrel.

As a result, Dangote raised its petrol gantry price from N774 to N1,200 as of the time of filing this report. The oil price hike also affected diesel and aviation fuel.

In the aviation sector, airlines are planning to shut down due to an over 350 per cent rise in Jet A-1 prices. Dangote supplies over 90 per cent of the country’s aviation fuel needs.

The Vice President of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, Allen Onyema, recently disclosed that prices skyrocketed from about N900 per litre before the Iran crisis to between N2,700 and N2,900, with some marketers selling as high as N3,500.

Speaking with our correspondent, the Dangote refinery official said the $20bn plant has already optimised the prices of petrol and diesel, stressing that it couldn’t have subsidised aviation fuel too.

As a result, he stated that jet fuel is being sold by the refinery at the market price.

The official blamed the high crude prices for the rise in fuel prices. “With the crude price moving up steeply, we try to optimise the price of PMS (petrol) as much as possible to help the public. To some extent, we try to optimise the price of AGO (diesel) too. We can’t be subsidising everything, and so, we sell the jet fuel at the market price,” the source stated.

The official replied in the affirmative when asked if his use of the word ‘optimise’ means subsidy.

Another official of the Dangote Group disclosed that the company sells its aviation fuel to marketers below N2,000 per litre.

“I can confirm to you that our jet fuel price as of this (Monday) morning is N1,799. It was even lower before this time. That’s how much we sell to the marketers who later sell to the airlines. We are selling at less than N2,000 a litre,” the source disclosed.

Last week, a report by the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria put Dangote’s jet fuel gantry price at N1,732 per litre, while the cost of imported aviation fuel was N1,835.

The PUNCH reports that fuel marketers have remained silent despite efforts to make them reveal how much they sell the product to the airlines.

Earlier, in a letter dated April 14, 2026, and addressed to the Executive Secretary of the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria, Clement Isong, the President of AON, Abdulmunaf Sarina, said the surge in the price of Jet A1 had become unbearable for operators.

The PUNCH reports that AON had in its letter said “the price of Jet A1 as sold by marketers has risen significantly from the initial N900/litre as at February 28, 2026, to N3,300/litre as of today.

“This represents an increase of over 300 per cent. This astronomical and artificial increase is not commensurate with the rise in crude oil prices and is well above international market benchmarks, which reflect approximately a 30 per cent increase in crude oil cost. For the past weeks, airlines have endured this burden and continued operations out of patriotism and in the spirit of service to the nation. However, the situation has now become unbearable and clearly unsustainable,” the letter stated.

It urged MEMAN to prevail on its members to proportionately adjust jet fuel prices in line with international market realities, “as airlines can no longer sustain purchases at the current exorbitant rates”.

Responding, MEMAN attributed the rising cost of aviation turbine kerosene to global factors, particularly disruptions linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The marketers expressed surprise at the N3,300 per litre price referenced by airline operators, stating that their internal survey showed significantly lower prices. The marketers said they would not be able to disclose a particular price, but N3,300 is over N1,000 above the normal price.

”In light of the above, we must express our surprise at the price of N3,300 per litre stated in your letter as the price being charged to some airline operators. MEMAN members do not discuss pricing, as this will be against competition law; however, the price of N3,300 is over N1,000 higher than our average market survey price of Jet A1 carried out for this exercise, after receipt of your letter,” MEMAN explained.

It, therefore, advised operators to explore alternative suppliers offering more competitive rates, saying, “We would therefore strongly encourage any operators currently being charged at those levels to exercise their commercial right to seek alternative suppliers.”

Since April 16, it has been observed that the situation has remained the same as airlines threaten to shut down their operations due to higher fuel costs.

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