Economy
LCCI Tasks FG to Adopt Prudent Fiscal Measures, Pro-Investment Tax Policy
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Nigerian government to adopt prudent fiscal policy measures and investment-friendly tax policies that work in tandem with the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to tame inflation.
The President of LCCI, Mr Gabriel Idahosa, said this at the Chamber’s first quarter of 2024 news conference on Thursday in Lagos, as he warned that as headline inflation continued its upward trend, it was telling on the ability of businesses to operate in the country.
He said in the last quarter of 2023, inflation notched higher to 28.92 per cent in December 2023, compared to 26.72 per cent recorded in September 2023,
Mr Idahosa also made a case for the government to strengthen its support to critical sectors like agriculture, road infrastructure, power, energy, and other key sectors because increasing the monetary policy rate has proven to be insufficient in taming inflation.
Last year, the CBN increased interest rates by more than 700 basis points to 18.75 per cent.
Citing the report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he noted that the inflationary pressures were primarily attributed to food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel; clothing and footwear; transport, furnishing, household equipment, and maintenance.
He, however, projected that should the government be able to address the main drivers of inflation including food and transportation in 2024, projecting that the transportation component of inflation was likely to come down.
“This is because we can see the efforts being made to put buses on the road that are more gas or electric. For instance, Borno now has a large fleet of these vehicles and some companies in Nigeria are embracing producing gas-powered buses.
“Should this trend from now month by month continue, there would be a decrease in the cost of public transportation.
“Given the fact that Dangote has started refining fuel, we do not expect to see a dramatic reduction in the price of oil but we expect some reduction as we won’t spend dollars taking crude out or bringing it back.
“What that means is that sometime in the year, you won’t see a further dramatic rise in inflation,” he said.
Mr Idahosa said that the global economy in 2023 proved more resilient than expected in the face of significant monetary tightening, continuing policy uncertainties, multiple shocks from conflicts, and climate change.
He, however, noted that domestically, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reports in 2023 showed quarterly growth that indicated a weak and fragile economy.
The LCCI president projected that in emerging markets and developing economies, growth was projected to remain steady at about 3.9 per cent in 2024.
He, however, stated that growth was expected to remain divergent in the region due to an array of global and domestic currents.
Mr Idahosa recommended that the federal government urgently address the structure of the power sector particularly, with a focus on the transmission segment.
This, he said, was needed to attract private sector investment into electricity transmission to bring in relevant financial, technical, and management capacity.
“The Federal Government needs to step up efforts to address the security challenges that have negatively affected investment inflows and improve the security measures adopted in tackling the menace of oil theft and vandalism.
“On agriculture sector growth, we urge the federal government to improve security and intensify the implementation of the national agricultural extension policy with a focus on improved and relevant agricultural technologies.
“The cost of logistics has gone up due to the poor state of our roads and the inadequate connectivity amongst farms, factories, and markets.
“The LCCI commends the Federal Government for the recent effort to attract private investment into the infrastructure sector. We also expect improved implementation of the capital funding allocated to infrastructures in the 2024 budget.
“While the CBN embarks on monetary tightening to tame inflation, it should ensure that targeted concessionary credit to the private sector is sustained for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributed about N2.550 trillion from the revenue generated by the nation in June 2026 to the three tiers of government after its July meeting in Abuja.
A statement signed by the Director of Press in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, “The N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue comprised N1.809 trillion in distributable statutory revenue and N740.724 billion in distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue.”
It was gathered that a total gross revenue of N4.500 trillion was available in June 2026, with deductions for the cost of collection amounting to N160.744 billion, and transfers and refunds at N1.789 trillion.
According to a communiqué after the gathering, gross statutory revenue of N3.700 trillion was received in June 2026, N1.049 trillion higher than the N2.651 trillion received in the preceding month, while gross revenue of N799.746 billion was generated from VAT, N56.058 billion higher than the N743.688 billion recorded in May 2026.
It was stated that from the N2.550 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received N923.438 billion, the state governments got N838.208 billion, while the local government councils were given N591.390 billion, with N197.610 billion allocated to the benefiting states as 13 per cent of mineral derivation revenue.
From the N1.809 trillion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government went away with N849.366 billion, states shared N430.810 billion, local councils took N332.136 billion, while the benefiting states got N197.610 billion as derivation revenue.
From the N740.724 billion distributable VAT earnings, the central government got N74.072 billion, the states received N407.398 billion, and the local government councils were allocated N259.253 billion.
The communiqué further stated that in June 2026, collections from Companies Income Tax (CIT), Capital Gains Tax (CGT), Stamp Duties (SDT), Petroleum Royalties, Gas Flare Penalties, Rent, Mineral Oil Royalties (MOR), Value Added Tax (VAT), Import Duty, and Common External Tariff (CET) Levies increased significantly, while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Hydrocarbon Tax (HT), Mineral Royalties, and Fees declined considerably. Excise Duty recorded only a marginal increase.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
See the full list below:
