The Nigerian government has extended the Electronic Money Transfer Levies (ETML) to domiciliary accounts in Nigeria. The levy was previously limited to only Naira accounts. However, starting today, it will now be collected by banks for the Federal Government, according to communication from banks seen by TechCabal.
Last year, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria’s tax authority, declared that it made over N125 billion from ETML charges. Earlier this year, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Federal Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, signed a regulation that mandated all banks to remit N50 on each deposit that is above N10,000.
“Based on the regulation, the ETML levy at the foreign currency equivalent of N50 is now applicable on the transfer of funds into domiciliary accounts. The exchange rate determined by the Central Bank of Nigeria shall be the applicable conversion rate”, read a mail sent from one of Nigeria’s banks.
The bank also added that the directive was from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. As a result, any transfer into a domiciliary account now attracts a singular and one-off deduction of the equivalent of N50 at an exchange rate determined by the Central Bank as ETML imposed on the receiving account.
This regulation also comes into effect at a time when Nigeria’s banking sector has come under serious scrutiny as a result of constantly changing regulations created by the Central Bank. Nigerians have been experiencing a cash crisis that has negatively affected the economy as a result of the hasty currency redesign announced by the Central Bank.
