The Federal Government of Nigeria generated N2.28 trillion from Value Added Tax (VAT) in the third quarter of 2025, marking a notable increase in revenue over just three months.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Q3 2025 VAT collection represents a 10.66 per cent rise compared to N2.06 trillion in Q2 2025, while on a year-on-year basis, VAT revenue surged 28.10 per cent relative to Q3 2024.
A breakdown of the figures shows that local VAT payments accounted for N1.12 trillion, foreign VAT contributed N680.23 billion, and import VAT totaled N479.79 billion.
Sectoral contributions reveal that Manufacturing was the top contributor, accounting for 25.89 per cent of total VAT collections. The Information and Communication (ICT) sector followed with 18.77 per cent, while Mining and Quarrying contributed 14.85 per cent.
Some sectors recorded strong growth, including Administrative and Support Service activities with an 89.28 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase, arts, entertainment, and recreation at 82.49 per cent, and human health and social work activities with a 32.40 per cent rise.
However, not all sectors posted gains. Real estate activities contracted sharply by 51.33 per cent, while activities of households as employers and other service-related activities fell by 36.22 per cent and 20.30 per cent, respectively. Activities of households as employers contributed the least to VAT revenue at just 0.003 per cent, alongside extraterritorial organizations and water supply, sewerage, and waste management, which each contributed 0.03 per cent.
The latest figures underscore the growing importance of non-oil revenue for Nigeria, particularly as authorities continue to strengthen tax administration and expand the revenue base. Analysts say that sustained growth in manufacturing, ICT, and mining could further enhance VAT collections if macroeconomic stability and business confidence are maintained.
