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ABUJA – Nigeria’s Value Added Tax (VAT) collections rose to N2.28 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, representing a 10.66 per cent increase compared to the N2.06 trillion recorded in the second quarter of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS disclosed this in its latest VAT report for Q3 2025, released on Tuesday, which showed improved performance across several sectors of the economy on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
A breakdown of the figures indicated that local VAT payments accounted for N1.12 trillion of the total collection during the quarter. Foreign VAT payments contributed N680.23 billion, while import VAT stood at N479.79 billion within the period under review.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, administrative and support service activities recorded the highest growth rate at 89.28 per cent.
This was followed by arts, entertainment and recreation, which grew by 82.49 per cent, while human health and social work activities posted a 32.40 per cent increase.
In contrast, real estate activities recorded the lowest growth rate at a negative 51.33 per cent.
Activities of households as employers, as well as undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use, declined by 36.22 per cent.
Other service activities also recorded a contraction of 20.30 per cent during the quarter.
In terms of sectoral contributions to total VAT collections, manufacturing emerged as the leading sector in Q3 2025, accounting for 25.89 per cent of the total VAT generated.
Information and communication followed with a contribution of 18.77 per cent, while mining and quarrying contributed 14.85 per cent.
The report further showed that activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the lowest share of VAT contribution at 0.003 per cent.
This was followed by activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies, as well as water supply, sewerage and waste management activities, which each accounted for 0.03 per cent of total VAT collection.
On a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q3 2025 increased significantly by 28.10 per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2024, reflecting stronger revenue performance relative to the same quarter last year.
The NBS report highlights sustained growth in VAT revenue, driven largely by strong sectoral contributions from manufacturing, information and communication, and mining and quarrying, alongside notable quarterly expansions in administrative and support services and arts and entertainment activities.
The data underscores continued improvements in tax receipts in the third quarter of 2025, despite contractions recorded in selected sectors such as real estate and household-related activities.
