AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Under section 31 of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, every person, including one that owes no tax, must keep books and records for at least six years after the year of assessment the income relates to. Records must be in English (or translated by a sworn translator on demand) and detailed enough to work out your tax.
The rule: six years after the year of assessment
The Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (NTAA), which took effect on 1 January 2026, puts the record-keeping duty in one place. Section 31(1) says every person, "including a company granted exemption from incorporation", must keep books or records of accounts "whether or not the person is liable to pay tax". Section 31(5) sets the period: records must be kept "for a period not less than six years after the year of assessment in which the income relates".
Three points follow from the wording. First, the clock starts after the year of assessment, not on the date of the receipt. Second, six years is a minimum, not a target. Third, the duty applies to sole traders, partnerships, companies and exempt bodies alike, so an NGO or a small company paying 0% tax is still covered.
Why six years: the assessment window
The retention period lines up with how far back the tax authority can go. Section 36(1) of the NTAA allows an additional assessment "within six years of the assessment" where the authority finds you were under-assessed. Section 36(2) lets an audit that started inside the six years continue after it ends. Section 36(4) removes the time limit completely where there has been a deliberate misstatement.
So the six-year rule is the floor. If a year is under audit or dispute, keep everything for that year until the matter is closed, even if that runs past six years. An objection, an appeal at the Tax Appeal Tribunal or an open audit is a reason to hold on, not to shred.
What counts as a record
Section 31(2) says records must contain "sufficient information or data of all relevant transactions" for your tax liability to be worked out. Section 31(3) adds that they must be consistent with any format the relevant tax authority prescribes. In practice, for most Nigerian businesses that means:
- Sales records: invoices issued, receipts, till or POS reports, and online order logs.
- Purchase records: supplier invoices, receipts and import documents.
- Bank and wallet statements for every account the business uses, including fintech accounts.
- Payroll: salary schedules, PAYE deductions and remittance receipts, pension schedules.
- Withholding tax credit notes or receipts received from customers, and those you issued as a deductor.
- VAT workings, if you are registered: output VAT, input VAT and returns filed.
- Fixed asset register, capital allowance workings and evidence that VAT or duty was paid on the asset.
- Annual accounts, tax computations, returns filed and acknowledgement slips.
A BusinessDay explainer on record retention (September 2025) gives a similar list: financial statements, returns, receipts and invoices, withholding tax credit notes, payroll and VAT documents. That article was written under the old law, but the categories carry over.
Digital records are records
The NTAA expects electronic records. Section 57(1)(e) lets the authority require records held "in computers, electronic devices or cloud facilities", and a notice to produce records must give you at least seven days (section 57(2)). If your books live in an app or a spreadsheet, make sure you can export them in readable form and that the export survives a change of software or a lost phone.
Other retention periods that overlap
Tax is not the only law that sets a period. The ones a small business is most likely to meet:
| Record | Minimum period | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Books and records for tax | 6 years after the year of assessment | NTAA 2025, s.31(5) |
| Wage records and per-worker records | 3 years | Labour Act, s.75 |
| Customer due diligence records (kept by banks) | 5 years after the relationship ends | CBN CDD Regulations 2023, as summarised by BusinessDay |
Where periods differ, keep to the longest one that applies. For most businesses that is the tax rule.
What happens if you do not keep records
Section 102 of the NTAA sets an administrative penalty for failing to keep books and records, or failing to produce them on request: ₦10,000 for a person other than a company and ₦50,000 for a company. The larger cost is usually indirect. Without records, the authority may reject a return and assess "to the best of its judgement" (section 34(4)(c)), or, for a business whose true profit cannot be ascertained, charge tax on a "fair and reasonable percentage" of gross income (section 38). Either way you lose the ability to prove your expenses. See our guide to presumptive and deemed-profit assessments.
Steps to set up a records habit
- Separate business money from personal money, so the bank statement is itself a record.
- Issue a numbered invoice or receipt for every sale, and file a copy.
- Photograph or scan supplier receipts the day you get them; label them by month.
- At month end, reconcile sales and expenses against the bank statement.
- At year end, archive the year in one folder with the return and acknowledgement, and note the earliest date it can be destroyed.
- Keep at least one off-device backup.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Business Account keeps business payments in one place with downloadable statements, and through our partner VerifyDoc.ai you can generate a verifiable receipt or statement that anyone can check is genuine and unaltered. The Finance agent can prepare monthly summaries for a person to review. None of this replaces your own archive: keep the six-year copy you control. For audit preparation, see what to expect in a tax audit.
This article is general information on the law as published, not tax advice.
Questions people ask
How many years should I keep receipts for tax in Nigeria?
At least six years after the year of assessment the income relates to, under section 31(5) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025. Keep them longer if that year is under audit, objection or appeal.
Do I need to keep records if my small company pays 0% tax?
Yes. Section 31(1) applies whether or not the person is liable to pay tax, and companies still file a return every year.
Can I keep tax records on my phone or in the cloud?
Yes, the Act expects electronic records and lets the authority request records held in computers, devices or cloud facilities. Keep a backup and make sure the files can be exported and read.
What is the penalty for not keeping books in Nigeria?
Under section 102 of the NTAA, ₦10,000 for an individual or other non-company and ₦50,000 for a company, plus the risk of a best-of-judgement assessment.
Sources
- Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025 (gazette copy) · accessed Oct 2026
- BusinessDay: Nigeria tax record retention, know the rules (2 Sep 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.