The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has named 16 certified tech companies to help businesses get onboard its new e-invoicing platform before a November 1 deadline.
Announced at a Lagos workshop on Thursday, the development comes as part of Nigeria’s goal to improve tax compliance through digital tools. The certified firms will help guide taxpayers through registration and usage of the FIRS Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS), a system replacing old paper invoices with structured digital ones for all business transactions.
The companies, certified by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), include Pasca Technology Limited, Hoptool Technology Limited, Etranzact International Plc, Telepac Africa Nigeria Limited, Cryptware System Limited, Namiri Technology Nigeria Limited, Ace of Spades Consult Nigeria Limited, Jureb Business Solutions Limited, Qucoon Limited, Courteville Business Solutions, Softrust Technologies Limited, Westmetro Limited, Arca Payments Company Limited, Elara Technical Services Limited, Interswitch Limited, and Remita Payment Limited.
FIRS says these firms demonstrated the technical capacity to deliver nationwide, secure, and neutral services. Speaking at the event, Mike Adoga, Acting Director of Tax Automation at FIRS, told business owners they are free to use any certified company, and can switch if service falls short.
If any of them is not compliant for whatsoever reason, you have the choice to change, and then let us know as FIRS. If you sense any breach or any problems in dealing with anyone, please reach out to the FIRS team – Adoga
He also stressed that service providers found to be compromising standards will be delisted.
The platform began operation on August 1, with over 1,000 companies already onboarded. But that’s only 20% of the target,FIRS expects over 5,000 companies to sign up. In response, the deadline for full onboarding has been extended by three months to November 1 to encourage voluntary compliance.
MTN, IHS, and Huawei are the first big companies to go live on the platform.
Emmanuel Eze, Director of Change Management at FIRS, who represented the Chief of Staff to the FIRS Executive Chairman, said:
We recognize that the onboarding journey is still ongoing. This is why the FIRS, in the spirit of encouraging voluntary compliance, has approved a three-month extension to the onboarding and transmission deadline.
The e-invoicing system is designed to cover all types of business transactions, including business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and business-to-government deals. It aims to make tax administration simpler, faster, and more transparent, boosting confidence in government digital reforms.
Workshops and live demos for companies will continue, as FIRS rolls out more certified partners and step-by-step guidance for successful integration.
