Onome Amuge
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has certified eTranzact International Plc as one of the providers for its nationwide electronic invoicing rollout, a move that underscores the tax authority’s push to digitise compliance processes and expand transparency in Africa’s largest economy.
The approval, announced this week, builds on an existing collaboration between the payments company and the FIRS that began in 2017 under the agency’s Tax Administration 2.0 reforms, when eTranzact worked with commercial banks to automate value-added tax and withholding tax reporting through the TaxPro Max platform. That system, which deployed secure APIs to standardise remittances, laid the groundwork for the latest phase of digitisation known as Tax Administration 3.0.
At the centre of the new initiative is the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS), FIRS’s digital platform designed to introduce structured e-invoices across business-to-business, business-to-consumer and business-to-government transactions. The system aims to simplify documentation, close compliance gaps and provide real-time visibility on taxable transactions.
“The certified providers met rigorous requirements, including nationwide service capacity, proven security, neutrality and scalability. Technical input from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was vital in strengthening cybersecurity and aligning the rollout with Nigeria’s data protection protocols,” said Mike Adoga, acting director of tax automation at FIRS. “
Tayo Koleoso, chief of staff to the executive chairman of FIRS, added that the selection process had been deliberately stringent. “Providers were carefully chosen based on their ability to deliver at scale. NITDA’s role was critical in tightening data protection and cybersecurity, giving taxpayers confidence that their information is safe and the process is transparent,” he noted.
For eTranzact, the approval consolidates its role as a trusted technology partner to government institutions. “This recognition by the FIRS affirms our vision to be the preferred integrated financial technology platform for merchants and consumers.“E-invoicing is more than compliance. It is an opportunity to transform how businesses interact with government, creating transparency, efficiency and value for every stakeholder,” said Niyi Toluwalope,the company’s managing director and chief executive officer.
The e-invoicing rollout comes at a critical time for Nigeria’s public finances. President Bola Tinubu’s administration has pledged to raise the country’s non-oil revenues to reduce budget deficits and dependency on volatile crude exports. Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, at just under 11 per cent according to the OECD, lags well behind the African average of 16 per cent and the global benchmark of more than 30 per cent.
Analysts say digitisation is central to bridging that gap. Thus, E-invoicing is expected to help close loopholes in transaction reporting and tackle base erosion.
For eTranzact, the certification offers both validation and opportunity. As the first publicly listed payments switching company on the Nigerian Exchange, the fintech has spent two decades building infrastructure to support banks, merchants and government agencies. Its expansion into tax digitisation places it at the nexus of Nigeria’s twin challenges of boosting revenue and modernising governance.
