Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue reached a record N1.78 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, recording a 14.16% growth. This indicates growth compared to the N1.56 trillion collected in the second quarter, highlighting the diversification of the country’s revenue base.

A breakdown of the VAT figures for Q3 2024 shows local payments contributed N922.87 billion, foreign VAT payments accounted for N448.85 billion, and import VAT added N410.62 billion.

Human health and social work activities recorded the highest quarter-on-quarter growth, surging by an impressive 250.39%. Activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use followed with a 102.09% growth rate.

In contrast, water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities saw the steepest decline, contracting by -41.92%, followed by activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies, which fell by -36.14%.

The manufacturing sector emerged as the largest contributor, accounting for 22.21% of the total VAT revenue in Q3 2024. Information and communication followed closely with 20.89%, while mining and quarrying activities made up 18.90%.

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Conversely, the least contributions came from the activities of households as employers (0.01%), activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies (0.01%), and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities (0.03%).

On a year-on-year basis, VAT revenue grew significantly by 88.00% compared to the third quarter of 2023. This remarkable increase underscores the government’s efforts to enhance tax compliance and revenue mobilisation.

The growth in VAT revenue means that the country is making progress in strengthening its fiscal capacity.

Though some other sectors experienced declines, the strong performance of key industries such as manufacturing, information and communication signals a right approach to growth.