The Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) has revealed that the country will implement mandatory electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) by January 2028. This initiative is part of a phased three-year plan aimed at enhancing compliance and automating tax administration.
According to the Project Manager for e-invoicing implementation, Mohammed Bawa, the timeline has been designed to facilitate a smooth transition from manual to fully digital invoicing for taxpayers.
"Every system implementation comes with challenges, which is why we are rolling it out in three phases: starting with large taxpayers, followed by medium and then smaller businesses," Bawa stated during a stakeholders' workshop held in Abuja in collaboration with eTranzact.
Bawa explained that as more taxpayers are onboarded into the system, enhancements will continue to be made until a complete transition is achieved by January 2028.
A public notice, signed by the Executive Chairman of NRS, outlined specific dates for different sectors. This year, the focus will be on medium taxpayers, with a gradual transition process for large taxpayers leading up to the 2028 deadline.
"We will conduct circular engagements, and pilot rollouts, and enforce compliance in the current year," he emphasized.
Bawa noted that the NRS held numerous consultations over the preceding year with taxpayers, tax consultants, and sector operators, particularly those from the large taxpayer segment, to prepare them for this transition.
He also mentioned that several large taxpayers had begun to adopt e-invoicing, with expectations for others to do so prior to full enforcement.
To support this rollout, the NRS has enhanced its technological infrastructure. "We have acquired additional servers and will continue to optimize the system based on feedback," he stated.
Bawa reassured taxpayers that they could select from any accredited service provider, indicating the NRS's role is to regulate and approve providers to ensure compliance with established standards.
"We are not advocating for any particular service provider. All accredited providers are qualified to implement the necessary integrations," he clarified.
He noted that this initiative is part of a broader global movement towards digital tax administration, with the NRS aiming for complete end-to-end automation of its processes. "In the past five years, we have automated significant interactions with taxpayers, from filing to payments and tax clearance certificates. E-invoicing represents the next phase in this integration," Bawa added.
Abubakar Achimugu, Executive Director at eTranzact, highlighted that the move from manual invoicing to digital processing is expected to enhance transparency and improve revenue tracking.
The representative from eTranzact, one of the accredited service providers, mentioned that the digital platform is designed to work seamlessly with existing accounting systems, thereby minimizing errors in manual reconciliation.
He also noted that the costs associated with using the platform would primarily depend on transaction volumes, asserting that technology costs are minimal and decrease with larger transactions.
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