By Ayo Kehinde
As the July 31 deadline approaches, large taxpayers that fail to migrate to the Nigerian Revenue Service’s electronic invoicing platform will begin facing statutory penalties, including fines of ₦200,000 per invoice.
The Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Olumide Akinsola disclosed this during a radio programme monitored in Lagos.
Akinsola said the July 31 deadline marks the end of the compliance window granted to businesses with annual turnover above ₦5 billion, the first category covered under the NRS’ phased implementation of its electronic invoicing system.
He explained that businesses that fail to comply after the deadline would become liable for penalties provided under the law.
“If you are a large taxpayer and you are still not compliant, you have until July 31 to do that. You are officially within the range of punitive measures, which are defined by the law as fines that apply to invoices that have not been transmitted to the NRS”, he said.
Under the Merchant Buyer Solution framework, businesses are required to electronically transmit invoices to the Nigerian Revenue Service for validation before they are recognised within the country’s tax administration system.
Each successfully validated invoice is assigned a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and a QR code that enables customers and tax authorities to verify its authenticity and tax status.
According to Akinsola, businesses that fail to comply after the deadline could face a ₦200,000 penalty for every untransmitted invoice, a 100 percent surcharge on the tax due, as well as interest calculated at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Rate plus two percentage points.
He noted that the July 31 deadline represents the beginning of enforcement after earlier implementation dates were shifted from November to June before being extended to the current timeline.
Akinsola explained that the NRS is implementing the e-invoicing system in phases based on the size of businesses.
The first phase covers large taxpayers with annual turnover exceeding ₦5 billion. Medium-sized businesses with turnover between ₦1 billion and ₦5 billion, as well as emerging taxpayers with turnover below ₦1 billion, will be brought into the system in subsequent phases.
He said the phased approach is intended to allow businesses adequate time to integrate their accounting systems with the electronic invoicing platform before enforcement begins.
Beyond regulatory compliance, Akinsola said the electronic invoicing initiative would simplify tax administration and improve Value Added Tax reconciliation for businesses.
Under the previous system, companies were required to submit paper documents to support VAT claims and refund applications. The new digital process is expected to automate invoice verification, making it easier for businesses to claim input VAT credits and process legitimate refunds.
He added that businesses without enterprise resource planning systems are not excluded from the programme, noting that accredited solution providers offer digital platforms that enable companies to generate and transmit compliant invoices directly to the NRS.
Akinsola urged businesses that are yet to complete the onboarding process to do so before the compliance window closes, warning that enforcement would begin immediately after the July 31 deadline.
