The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has dismissed claims that Value Added Tax (VAT) on banking services is a recent policy, clarifying that the charge predates any new tax laws.
In a statement shared on its official X handle on Thursday, the agency responded to reports that some Nigerian banks, including Moniepoint, planned to begin charging a 7.5 per cent VAT on services such as bank transfers and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions from January 19, 2026.
The NRS explained that VAT has always been imposed on fees, commissions and other charges linked to banking services offered by financial institutions nationwide.
According to the service, suggestions that a new VAT has been introduced on banking transactions are inaccurate and misleading.
“The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) wishes to correct misleading reports in parts of the media claiming that VAT has been newly imposed on banking services, fees, commissions or electronic money transfers. This assertion is completely false,” the statement said.
The agency added that existing tax laws already cover VAT on banking service charges, noting that the Nigeria Tax Act did not create any additional VAT burden for bank customers.
