VAT revenue rises 34% to N6.4trn in 9 months

•As Company Income Tax grows 48% to N7.72trn

By Elizabeth Adegbesan & Progress Godfrey

Nigeria’s revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) and Company Income Tax (CIT) recorded strong growth in the first nine months of 2025, reflecting improved non-oil revenue performance and enhanced fiscal capacity.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that VAT collections rose year-on-year (YoY) by 34 percent to N6.4 trillion in 9M’25 from N4.77 trillion in the corresponding period of 2024.

Quarterly analysis indicated mixed but improving momentum. VAT declined marginally by 1.4 percent to N2.03 trillion in Q2’25 from N2.06 trillion in Q1’25. However, collections rebounded in Q3’25, rising by 10.66 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to N2.28 trillion. On a YoY basis, VAT in Q3’25 grew by 28.1 percent.

In Q3’25, local VAT payments accounted for N1.12 trillion, foreign VAT payments contributed N680.23 billion, while import VAT stood at N479.79 billion.

Sectoral data showed that Administrative and Support Services recorded the highest QoQ growth at 89.28 percent, followed by Arts, Entertainment and Recreation (82.49 percent), and Human Health and Social Work (32.4 percent). Real Estate posted the sharpest decline at –51.33 percent. Manufacturing led sectoral contributions with 25.89 percent, followed by Information and Communication (18.77 percent) and Mining and Quarrying (14.85 percent).

Similarly, Company Income Tax collections surged by 48 percent to N7.72 trillion in 9M’25 from N5.22 trillion in 9M’24.

On a quarterly basis, CIT stood at N1.98 trillion in Q1’25, rose 40 percent to N2.78 trillion in Q2’25, and increased by 5.7 percent to N2.96 trillion in Q3’25. The Q3 figure represented a 67.19 percent YoY rise.

Further breakdown showed that domestic CIT payments in Q3’25 stood at N1.21 trillion, while foreign CIT payments accounted for N1.75 trillion, highlighting a significant contribution from foreign-sourced earnings.

The strong VAT and CIT performance underscores growing non-oil revenue resilience and improved government revenue mobilisation.

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