Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In the first quarter of 2021, the total value of Value-Added Tax (VAT) collected by the Nigerian government stood at N496.4 billion.
This information was revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in a report released over the weekend titled Sectoral Distribution Of Value Added Tax – Q1 2021.
The agency disclosed that N496.4 billion VAT collections for the period under review were 52.9 per cent higher than the N324.6 billion generated in the first quarter of 2020.
Also, the stats office disclosed in its report that the amount raked by the nation from VAT in the period under consideration was 9.2 per cent higher than the N454.7 billion achieved in the fourth quarter of last year.
The NBS disclosed that out of the total amount generated in Q1 2021, N224.9 billion was generated as non-import VAT locally while N171.7 billion was generated as non-import VAT for foreign, with the balance of N99.9 billion was generated as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)-import VAT.
By sector, the other manufacturing generated the highest amount of VAT with N49.4 billion and was closely followed by professional services with N42.5 billion, with state ministries and parastatals generating N27.0 billion.
Mining raked the least and closely followed by pioneering and textile and garment industry with N48.4 million, N77.0 million and N289.4 million respectively.
Business Post observed that the VAT generated from breweries, bottling and beverages, N11.9 billion, was down year-on-year by 17.3 per cent and dropped quarter-on-quarter by 37.9 per cent, while the N3.3 billion from banks and financial institutions was down by 39.5 per cent y-o-y and down 55.4 per cent q-o-q.
However, commercial and trading, with a VAT of 22.8 billion in Q1 2021, was 32.7 per cent higher on a year-on-year basis and 9.3 per cent lower than the amount raised in Q4 of 2020.
With business activities coming up gradually, especially in the hospitality sector, which was shut down last year to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the VAT collection from hotels and catering rose by 13.3 per cent year-on-year and 25.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter to N2.9 billion.
