Nigerians paid N1.43 trillion in value-added tax in the first three months of 2024, up from N1.20 trillion in Q4 of 2023.
This was disclosed in the National Bureau of Statistics’ most recent report on VAT collection.
Nigeria levies a VAT rate of 7.5% on several products and services.
This shows an increase of 19.21% when compared quarter-on-quarter.
In the report, the amount of VAT collected rose to N709.59 billion. This indicates a 101.52% increase when compared to the equivalent quarter of 2023.
Local payments came to N663.18 billion in Q1 2024, while import VAT contributed N332.01 billion and international VAT payments were N435.73 billion. 5.27% more was paid in local VAT than in Q4 of 2023, which was a slight rise.
Nonetheless, from N326.26 billion in Q4 of last year to the present amount, foreign VAT collection grew by 33.55% on a quarterly basis. The amount of foreign VAT collected rose by 188.32% on a year-on-year basis
Additionally, from N244.04 billion to N332.00 billion in the first quarter of 2024, the Nigeria Customs Service import VAT increased by 36.05%. This grew by 171.31% as compared to the same quarter in 2023.
The sharp depreciation of the naira is attributed to the notable increase in VAT collection for overseas VAT payments and NCS import VAT.
The sectors with the greatest quarterly growth rates were lodging and food service (59.15%), followed by support and administrative (47.79%).
On the other hand, human health and social work activities had low growth rates of -27.73%, while extraterritorial organizations and bodies had the lowest growth rates, at -57.01%.