This is the short version. Who is in scope, on what date, and what default is reported to cost. The longer explanation of how the platform works, what an Invoice Reference Number is and how accredited providers fit in is at Nigeria e-invoicing and the Merchant Buyer Solution.
The dates
Find your annual turnover in the second column. The row it lands in gives you your go-live date and the date from which enforcement is reported to begin.
| Band | Annual turnover | Go-live | Enforcement from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large | NGN 5 billion and above | November 2025 | April 2026, after the post go-live review |
| Medium | NGN 1 billion to under NGN 5 billion | 1 July 2026 | January 2027 |
| Small, described in the notice as emerging | Under NGN 1 billion | 1 July 2027 | January 2028 |
- The band you are in is decided by annual turnover, not by sector or headcount.
- Go-live and enforcement are different dates. Enforcement is reported to follow the engagement, pilot and post go-live review phases for each band.
- A large customer inside the regime may require compliant invoices from its suppliers before those suppliers reach their own go-live date.
The large taxpayer deadline
In July 2026 the Nigeria Revenue Service set 31 July 2026 as the deadline for large taxpayers, meaning companies with annual gross turnover of NGN 5 billion and above, to complete onboarding on the Merchant Buyer Solution and integrate their systems through approved Access Point Providers or Systems Integrators.
The same reporting recorded that more than 1,000 companies had complied as of the first quarter of 2026, and that non-compliant firms risk regulatory and enforcement action under existing tax laws.
That deadline has passed. If your business is in the large band and has not onboarded, this page is not the right level of detail for you. Speak to an accredited provider.
Penalties
The reported penalty for default is NGN 1,000,000 for the first day, plus NGN 10,000 for each subsequent day the default continues.
The shape of it matters as much as the amount. The first day is by far the largest single charge, and after that the cost accrues quietly every day until the default is cured. There is no plateau in the figures we were given.
Billify is not an accredited provider
Billify is not an accredited FIRS or NRS e-invoicing service provider. It is not an Access Point Provider and not a System Integrator. It does not transmit invoices to the Merchant Buyer Solution and it cannot obtain an Invoice Reference Number on your behalf. Using Billify does not make any business compliant with the e-invoicing mandate.
Billify is invoicing software for businesses below the mandate threshold: the sole traders, freelancers and small companies whose band is not scheduled to go live until 1 July 2027, with enforcement from January 2028.
If you are in scope now, or expect to be when your turnover crosses a band boundary, your first call is an accredited provider. Verify accreditation with the Nigeria Revenue Service rather than relying on a vendor's own description of itself.
If you are below the threshold
Nothing is required of you today. The useful preparation is not technical, it is clerical, and it is worth doing whether or not the dates hold.
- 01Know your annual turnover and which band it puts you in. Recheck yearly.
- 02Put your TIN and CAC details on every invoice: TIN and CAC details on your invoice.
- 03Run one unbroken invoice numbering sequence with no duplicates.
- 04Record the customer's registered name and tax details, not just a contact.
- 05Show VAT as its own line at 7.5%: VAT on invoices in Nigeria.
- 06Keep every invoice retrievable by number and date.
- 07Ask your largest customers when they will start requiring IRN-bearing invoices.
If you need to raise a clean invoice right now, the free invoice generator needs no signup, and the template library has the layouts.
Sources
- 01Sovos, "Nigeria: NRS Publishes E-Invoicing Implementation Timeline" (turnover bands, go-live and enforcement dates, enforcement follows the pilot and post go-live review)
- 02Nairametrics, 19 July 2026, "NRS sets July 31 deadline for large taxpayers' e-invoicing adoption" (31 July 2026 deadline, NGN 5 billion threshold, onboarding through approved APPs and SIs, more than 1,000 companies complied as of Q1 2026)