By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Federal Government has banned the collection of taxes in cash and prohibited the mounting of roadblocks for revenue enforcement nationwide as part of fresh regulations to implement Nigeria’s new tax laws.
The directive was announced on Tuesday, 3 March, 2026 in Abuja during the signing of the Presumptive Tax Regulations and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Tax Laws at the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The Executive Secretary of the Joint Revenue Board, Mr Olusegun Adesokan, said the framework was introduced to end informal, coercive and fragmented tax practices, particularly at the subnational level, while promoting transparency and equity in tax administration.
“It bans all forms of cash collection by tax authorities. It also bans the mounting of roadblocks for the collection of taxes,” Adesokan said.
He explained that the regulations were designed to entrench fairness in the system, especially within the commerce and informal sectors.
According to him, nano and small businesses with an annual turnover of N12 million and below are exempted under the presumptive tax regime.
“Our nano and small businesses with an annual turnover of N12 million and below are exempted from tax,” he stated.
For other categories of informal businesses, he said the framework introduces a one per cent tax rate on turnover.
“It also introduces a tax rate of one per cent of turnover on all other categories of informal businesses,” Adesokan added, noting that the reforms encourage technology-driven payment systems and integration through a Tax Identification platform.
Describing the framework as a coordinated national approach, he said, “These regulations constitute the framework for taxing the commerce sector,” adding that the alignment of states signalled a move towards uniformity in tax administration.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the signing marked the transition from legislative approval to operational enforcement of tax reforms enacted in 2025 and early 2026.
“With the signing of these regulations, we are transitioning from regulation to structured implementation of the tax reforms,” Edun said.
He described the framework as simple and transparent, anchored on “transparency, fairness, clarity, indeed, equity, and economic inclusion for Nigerians.”
“Our aim is to ensure consistency, prevent arbitrary assessments… and to protect small businesses while ensuring the continuous growth of the Nigerian economy,” the minister said.
Edun maintained that the reforms were not intended to raise tax rates but to broaden the tax base in a structured manner.
“We’ll expand the tax base, not raising taxes, but expanding so that each bears his rightful contribution to the common cause,” he said.
He further stated that the regulations were developed in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board to ensure alignment across federal, state and local governments.
“Our role is to ensure that tax administrations are coordinated, not fragmented, and deliver results and impact to all Nigerians,” he added.
Linking the reforms to broader economic targets, Edun noted that economic expansion exceeded four per cent in the last quarter of 2025 but required further acceleration.
“We’re looking at, in the immediate term, to try to get to seven per cent GDP growth on our way to Mr President’s clear-stated target by 2030, the $1 trillion economy,” he said.
He assured stakeholders that implementation would be closely monitored, disclosing that an ombudsman mechanism had been introduced.
“Implementation will be monitored carefully. Fairness in practice there’s an ombudsman to keep an eye on fair implementation of the tax laws,” Edun stated.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the National Tax Policy Implementation Committee, Mr Joseph Tegbe, described the signing as a decisive shift from policy intention to execution.
“With the signing of the presumptive tax guidelines, we have moved from legal provisions to operational reality,” Tegbe said.
He stressed that the reforms were aimed at correcting distortions rather than imposing new burdens.
“It’s not about imposing new volumes but restoring order where there has been fragmentation and replacing arbitrariness with transparency,” he said.
Tegbe observed that the informal sector employs more than 80 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce but contributes disproportionately low structured revenue due to systemic weaknesses.
“The informal sector employs more than 80 per cent of the workforce yet its contribution to structured public revenue has been disproportionately low, not because they are unwilling to pay but because our framework was either too complex or did not reflect operational realities,” he said.
He added that sustainable development requires sustainable revenue mobilisation and assured that the committee would work with tax authorities to ensure a disciplined and transparent rollout of the new framework.
“With today’s signing, we move decisively from intention to execution,” Tegbe said.
