Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue reached an all-time high of N1.78 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This marks a 14.16% increase from the N1.56 trillion collected in the previous quarter, and an impressive 88% rise compared to the same period last year.
The breakdown shows that local VAT payments amounted to N922.87 billion, foreign VAT payments contributed N448.85 billion, and import VAT added N410.62 billion. The human health and social work sectors recorded the highest growth, surging by 250.39% from the previous quarter. Household activities, including undifferentiated goods and services produced for personal use, saw an increase of 102.09%.
Some sectors faced significant declines. Water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities saw the largest drop, falling by 41.92%. This was followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies, which saw a 36.14% decline.
The manufacturing sector was the largest contributor, accounting for 22.21% of the total VAT revenue, followed by information and communication at 20.89%, and mining and quarrying at 18.90%.The NBS also noted that activities of households as employers, including undifferentiated goods-and-services-producing activities for personal use, accounted for the smallest share at 0.01%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies (0.01%), and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities (0.03%).
The growth in VAT revenue signals progress in strengthening Nigeria’s fiscal position. Despite declines in some sectors, the solid performance of key industries like manufacturing and information and communication suggests the country is on the right track towards sustainable economic growth.
