Three major revenue-generating agencies in Nigeria deducted a total of N533.11bn as costs of revenue collection in the first seven months of 2024, according to findings by The PUNCH.
The agencies include the Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
This figure, derived from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee reports published by the National Bureau of Statistics, marks a substantial increase of 99.85 per cent compared to the N266.75bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2023.
The FIRS and NUPRC deducted about four per cent of the cost of revenue collection, while the NCS received seven per cent.
The cost of collection is usually deducted at the monthly FAAC meeting before the federally collected revenues are shared with the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
Among the three revenue-generating agencies, the FIRS deducted the largest share of the cost of collection in the first seven months of 2024, totalling N254.82bn, which accounts for about 47.8 per cent of the combined N533.11bn.
FIRS’s share covers Value Added Tax, company income taxes, and other revenue sources critical to the government’s fiscal operations.
In 2024, FIRS deducted N254.82bn as a cost of collection, a 61.55 per cent increase compared to N157.73bn in 2023.
Monthly breakdowns reveal fluctuating trends, with the agency collecting N43.35bn in January 2024, a significant rise from N18.14bn in January 2023.
July 2024 saw the highest spike, with FIRS deducting N55.13bn, an increase of 0.01 per cent compared to July 2023’s similar collection.
The NCS followed as the second-largest recipient, with N147.64bn, representing around 27.7 per cent of the total amount shared among the agencies.
This amount highlights the NCS’s role in managing customs duties and excise collections from imports and exports. The agency’s higher collection costs are likely due to the increase in import duty.
NCS reported a total of N147.64bn as its cost of collection in the first seven months of 2024, showing a marked increase of 114.49 per cent from N68.86bn in the same period in 2023.
The NUPRC deducted N130.64bn, about 24.5 per cent of the total cost of collection. NUPRC’s share is notable given its oversight of the upstream oil and gas sector, which remains a cornerstone of Nigeria’s economy.
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