“Tax ID requirement is for corporate customers only”- Ikeja Electric clarifies

Ikeja Electric has walked back its earlier notice requiring all customers to submit identification numbers by February 20, clarifying that the requirement only applies to businesses, not households.

The electricity distributor issued a new statement on Thursday evening after its initial announcement caused widespread confusion among residential customers who feared losing power if they didn’t provide Tax Identification Numbers, National Identification Numbers, or CAC registration details.

“Please note that the notice applies strictly to corporate customers (B2B), as well as our vendors and strategic business partners,” the company said in the updated notice, which directly contradicts the broad language used in its first announcement.

The need for clarification

The first notice did not mention that this affects only business entities. It stated that Nigeria’s Tax Act (2025) requires all invoices to include customer identification details: TIN, NIN, or CAC number. It also said that bills without this information would be considered invalid.

The company’s failure to distinguish between residential and corporate customers in the first notice triggered panic, with many people lamenting and scrambling to figure out how to obtain or verify their TIN before the tight February 20 deadline.

The updated notice reassures customers that they don’t need to take any action. The new requirement applies only to businesses. It comes from a tax law that says companies must include verified tax identification for both parties in their transactions.

Also read: Ikeja Electric threatens to disconnect customers without Tax IDs by February 20

What does this mean for different customers?

For households, nothing changes. If you’re a residential customer paying electricity bills at home, Ikeja Electric says you don’t need to submit any identification numbers and your service won’t be affected.

For businesses, the February 20 deadline still stands. Corporate customers, companies, vendors, and business partners who receive invoices from Ikeja Electric must provide their TIN or CAC registration number.

The company says this is necessary to comply with the Nigeria Revenue Service’s invoice validation framework, which requires business invoices to be uploaded and verified through the NRS portal.

When we send validated invoices to corporate customers through the portal, the customer’s Tax ID is required for processing. This is standard practice for B2B transactions under the new tax rules. The changes aim to improve compliance and make it harder for businesses to underreport their revenue.

It remains unclear why Ikeja Electric did not clarify this distinction in its initial notice. The company’s updated statement acknowledges “genuine concerns received,” indicating that it faced significant pushback from confused residential customers.

For now, households can breathe easy, but corporate customers still have eight days to get their details in.

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