FIRS engages tax consultants to drive adoption of e-invoicing initiative

As part of efforts to enhance awareness of its e-invoicing initiative, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) advanced conversations on the project with tax consultants to large taxpayers in Lagos on Tuesday, March 10, 2025.

In November 2024, the FIRS announced the launch of its e-invoicing system designed to facilitate the seamless creation, validation, and exchange of electronic invoices while adhering to international best practices.

During his presentation, Mohammed Bawa, the project manager for the e-invoicing system, said the FIRS commenced stakeholder engagements in February to evaluate the initiative, gather feedback, address concerns, and sensitise taxpayers, consultants, and other stakeholders.

He added that the initiative's phased rollout will commence sector by sector, starting with the banking and telecom industries.

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While addressing journalists, Tayo Koleosho, the Chief of Staff to the Executive Secretary of the FIRS/Head, Strategic Management Office, said engaging tax consultants is essential because of their critical role in tax administration.

"The electronic e-invoicing project continues in its collaboration and the stakeholder management phase. We continue to meet with all the stakeholders.

"Last two weeks, we met with the large tax payers, and this week, we're meeting with the consultants. So the consultants play a critical role in the tax administration, because they're sitting in between the tax administration and also the customers, the taxpayers," Koleosho said.

According to him, the purpose of the engagement was to enlighten the consultants, "to tell them where we are on the e-invoicing project, and to seek their support."

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Koleosho emphasised that the e-invoicing initiative will ease tax administration in terms of data exchange between taxpayers and tax administrators in a more transparent and seamless way.

On the implementation timeline, he said, "In our timeline, we are hoping that we will go live by July of this year."

He added that the initiative will enhance ease of doing business and boost transparency and compliance, stressing that it's a win-win for all stakeholders.

Given the efforts put into creating the solution system, Koleosho said the FIRS does not envisage the initiative posing any implementation challenges.

"We do not envisage any major issues in terms of implementation and if, for any unforeseen reason, any issues come upon. I think we are set up in a way where our technical folks, our consultants, and the experience of FIRS will come together to be able to solve the problem then, but we are not really anticipating any such glitches because this is a very well thought out," he stated.