The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria generated N289.04 billion from value-added Tax (VAT) in the first quarter of 2019, representing a decline N9billion from the N298.01 billion generated in Q4 2018.
This is contained in a Sectoral Distribution of VAT report for the first quarter 2019 released by the bureau.
This, it said, represented a 3.01 per cent decrease quarter-on-quarter and 7.13per cent increase year-on-year.
VAT is a consumption tax placed on a product whenever value is added at each stage of the supply chain – from production to the point of sale.
According to the report, the manufacturing sector generated the highest amount of N31.42 billion.
It was followed by professional services with N24.31 billion, while commercial and trading generated N14.92 billion. NBS further said the mining sector generated the least amount of N59.88 million, with pharmaceuticals raking in N201.58 million, while the chemicals and allied industry generated N298.14 million. The report noted that N137.06 billion was generated as non-import VAT locally, while N98.97 billion was generated as non-import VAT for foreign items in the quarter under review. According to the bureau, N5.01 billion was generated as Nigeria Customs import VAT within the period under review.