The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported that Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue rose to ₦2.28 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, representing a 10.66% increase from ₦2.06 trillion recorded in the second quarter.
The figures were disclosed in the Sectoral Distribution of VAT Q3 2025 report published on the agency’s website. On a year-on-year basis, VAT collections grew by 28.10% compared to the third quarter of 2024, underscoring sustained expansion in tax receipts amid ongoing fiscal reforms and improved compliance.
A breakdown of the revenue components shows that local VAT payments accounted for ₦1.12 trillion, maintaining the largest share of collections. Foreign VAT payments contributed ₦680.23 billion, while import VAT added ₦479.79 billion during the quarter under review.
According to the report, administrative and support service activities recorded the highest quarter-on-quarter growth rate at 89.28%. Arts, entertainment and recreation followed closely with 82.49% growth, while human health and social work activities expanded by 32.40%.
In contrast, real estate activities posted the weakest performance, contracting by 51.33%. Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities for own use declined by 36.22%, while other service activities fell by 20.30%.
Sectoral contribution analysis indicates that manufacturing led VAT generation in Q3 2025, accounting for 25.89% of total collections. Information and communication contributed 18.77%, while mining and quarrying made up 14.85%.
At the lower end of the spectrum, activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities for own use recorded the smallest share at 0.003%. Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies, as well as water supply, sewerage and waste management, each accounted for 0.03%.
The sustained rise in VAT revenue reflects broad-based sectoral participation, particularly from manufacturing and ICT, reinforcing the growing role of non-oil revenue in Nigeria’s fiscal framework.
