NRS raises pressure on large taxpayers over digital invoice compliance

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has intensified efforts to enforce its electronic invoicing policy, directing all large taxpayers to complete migration to its digital invoicing platform by July 31, 2026.

The agency said the deadline applies to companies classified as large taxpayers and follows an earlier public notice released on February 17, 2026, which detailed the timetable and requirements for implementing the Electronic Fiscal System (EFS), also known as the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS).

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the Chairman’s Special Adviser on Media, Dare Adekanmbi, the tax authority has begun assessing the level of compliance among affected businesses and warned that failure to meet the deadline could attract legal consequences.

The statement, signed by NRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji, urged all affected organisations to complete registration, system integration, testing and commence transmitting invoices through the agency’s electronic platform before the cut-off date.

“NRS has already commenced compliance monitoring activities in order to assess the level of adherence to the e-invoicing mandate among large taxpayers,” the statement said.

“Consequently, any defaulting member may be subjected to appropriate regulatory and enforcement actions in accordance with the provisions of the relevant tax laws and regulations.”

The revenue agency advised companies yet to complete the process to finalise all onboarding and technical integration before the deadline expires.

It explained that the requirement applies to businesses with an annual gross turnover of at least N5 billion, adding that more than 1,000 eligible companies had successfully complied by the end of the first quarter of 2026.

To achieve full compliance, taxpayers are expected to register on the Merchant Buyer Solution platform, integrate their systems through approved Access Point Providers and Systems Integrators, complete validation and testing, and ensure invoices are transmitted to the NRS platform in real time.

The agency also instructed businesses to accept only electronic invoices carrying valid Invoice Reference Numbers from their suppliers.

According to the NRS, the digital invoicing initiative is aimed at improving transparency in tax administration, blocking revenue leakages and enhancing the efficiency of Nigeria’s tax system.