By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Value Added Tax (VAT) gushed 52.93 per cent and yielded N496.39 billion to the federal treasury in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021), a sign of greater acquisition of goods and services despite general poverty and the impact of the pandemic.
The 52.93 per cent increase in Q1 2021 over the N324.58 billion in Q1 2020 builds on the total N1.53 trillion VAT that Abuja collected in 2020, which itself rose 29.3 per cent over the N1.18 trillion made in 2019.
An earlier report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said VAT revenue grew 29.3 per cent in all of 2020 compared to N1.18 trillion in 2019, and notched 38.2 per cent against N1.11 trillion in 2018.
The latest data from the NBS shows that the N496.39 billion VAT collected in Q1 2021 is 9.17 per cent greater than the N454.7 billion collected in Q4 2020.
Nairametrics explains that the rise could be attributed to increased economic activity nationwide compared to last year when the pandemic forced lockdown in nearly all sectors.
VAT collected by sector
· Manufacturing (N49.41 billion).
· Professional Services (N42.50 billion).
· State Ministries & Parastatals (N26.96 billion).
· Textile & Garment (N289.41 million).
· Pioneering (N77.01 million).
· Mining (N48.36 million).
· Local Non-Import (N224.85 billion).
· Foreign Non-Import (N171.66 billion).
· Commercial and Trading (N22.8 billion.
· Oil-producing (N15.8 billion).
· Transportation and Haulage (N14.9 billion).
· Breweries, Bottling, and Beverages (N11.9 billion).
· Federal Ministries and Parastatals (N8.8 billion).
· Banks and Financial Institutions (N3.3 billion).
· Oil-marketing (N3 billion).
· Nigerian Customs Service (NSC)-Import (N99.88 billion).