The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has appointed Upperlink Limited as a System Integrator for the national e-invoicing platform, authorising the company to connect businesses to the NRS Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS) framework. This role enables Upperlink to facilitate real-time invoice validation, secure transmission, and compliant digital tax reporting under the new e-invoicing regime. The phased rollout of the system targets taxpayers based on annual turnover bands: those above ₦5 billion, between ₦1 billion and ₦5 billion, and below ₦1 billion, with mandatory onboarding windows assigned accordingly. Organisations must integrate their accounting or invoicing systems with the NRS-approved framework to ensure invoices are issued, validated, and submitted in real time through authorised channels.
Upperlink's Managing Director, Olusegun Akano, stated the authorisation reflects the company's expertise in enterprise technology, digital infrastructure, and large-scale service delivery. He highlighted that Upperlink is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and operates as an aggregator to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). The company is also Nigeria's first ICANN-accredited registrar, with capabilities in cloud services and digital infrastructure. Akano noted existing platforms like Upperlink Paygate, which aggregates payments across major card schemes and account-to-account channels, and supports treasury systems for large corporations and state governments. These systems, he said, position the company to handle the scale and compliance demands of the e-invoicing framework.
The company has previously supported major public sector initiatives, including the World Bank-backed AGILE Project, where it provided technical infrastructure for beneficiary registration, digital identity capture, and payment management in partnership with banks. Chief Marketing Officer Opeyemi Oni said the NRS approval strengthens Upperlink's commitment to helping Nigerian businesses comply with the e-invoicing framework, reduce operational friction, improve transparency, and maintain trusted digital records. As a System Integrator, Upperlink will design, deploy, integrate, and support e-invoicing compliant systems for organisations required to connect with the national platform.
Upperlink's appointment as a System Integrator for the e-invoicing platform leverages its existing CBN and NIBSS affiliations, yet the mandate assumes businesses already have compatible digital systems. Many small firms below the ₦1 billion turnover mark lack the infrastructure to integrate, risking exclusion rather than compliance. The phased rollout does not address the cost or technical support needed for smaller entities to meet real-time submission requirements.
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