The latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals that Nigeria amassed an impressive aggregate revenue of N1.49 trillion from Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the first half of 2023.
According to the NBS report on Monday, the second quarter of 2023 alone accounted for VAT revenues amounting to N781.35 billion, signifying a remarkable quarter-on-quarter growth rate of 10.11% compared to N709.59 billion in the first quarter of the year.
Analyzing the data further, it becomes evident that local payments accounted for N512.03 billion, foreign VAT payments reached N142.63 billion, and import VAT contributed N126.69 billion in the second quarter of 2023.
The NBS highlighted that, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the activities of extra-territorial organizations and bodies exhibited the highest growth rate, soaring by an impressive 212.06%, followed closely by real estate activities with a growth rate of 123.09%.
Conversely, activities such as households functioning as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for personal use experienced the lowest growth rate, standing at -57.06%. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing also posted a negative growth rate of -32.86%.
In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three sectors with the largest shares in the second quarter of 2023 were manufacturing, accounting for 29.64%; information and communication, contributing 21.19%; and financial and insurance activities, making up 11.18% of the total.
On the other hand, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for personal use held the smallest share at 0.01%, followed by water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities, as well as activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies, each accounting for 0.05%.