ABUJA, July 24 – Nigeria is moving to real-time tax reporting through a nationwide electronic invoicing system, a major step in its plan to modernise tax administration and strengthen the country’s digital economy.
Under the new system, qualifying business invoices will be sent electronically to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) as they are issued, replacing a process that has long relied on companies reporting sales months after transactions took place.
According to the NRS rollout calendar, large taxpayers are already under compliance monitoring, while medium-sized businesses are expected to begin mandatory onboarding in July 2026. Emerging businesses will follow in 2027 as part of a three-year phased implementation.
Speaking from Abuja, Mohammed Bawa, who leads the NRS e-invoicing programme, said the initiative is aimed at improving transparency, accountability and visibility across the economy, not simply increasing tax revenue.
The platform will assign every invoice a unique reference number, allowing the tax authority to compare transaction data with tax returns. Officials say the system is designed to discourage under-reporting while reducing compliance costs for businesses.
Nigeria joins several African countries that have introduced electronic invoicing to improve tax compliance, including Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana. With more than 2.5 million registered businesses, however, the country’s programme could become the largest of its kind on the continent.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which accredits technology providers supporting the rollout, said about 50 companies have now been certified after meeting cybersecurity, data protection and system reliability standards.
The government said businesses will not be required to replace their existing accounting or enterprise software, as the platform is designed to integrate with more than 50 enterprise resource planning systems through application programming interfaces (APIs).
Officials said the success of the reform will ultimately depend on how quickly businesses adopt and use the platform.
