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Tag: GRA

  • Taxes with smiles – Elizabeth Ohene writes

    I wish I could say honestly that paying my taxes was one of the happiest things I enjoy doing in my life. I can say, for example, without any hesitation that I enjoy singing, I enjoy driving, I enjoy reading, I enjoy talking, I enjoy arguing, I enjoy listening to the radio.

    I would say I used to enjoy writing a lot because it came to me effortlessly, but I don’t enjoy it quite as much any longer because it now takes me a long time and I struggle to write these days.

    There are things I do that I can’t say I enjoy, but I know they have to be done whether you enjoy doing them or not.

    For the greater part of my life, I cooked, but I can say that it wasn’t something I enjoyed. The kitchen is not my favourite room in the house, I cooked because it was part of growing up and my mother would have been horrified to have a daughter that didn’t know how to cook.

    I discovered it was a useful skill to have and I didn’t need to enjoy doing it to be passably okay at it.

    I am not quite sure where paying taxes fits in this range of things that I do because they have to be done and things I enjoy doing.

    There are things I do that I must confess I do only because I am obliged by the law. For example, I insure my car only because the law says I should. If there weren’t a law that says all vehicles on the roads have to be insured, I would not bother to insure my car.

    So I can safely say that taking an insurance policy on my car and renewing the policy is not something I enjoy doing. I do not believe in the whole business of insurance, I am convinced they rip me off and I can never win in any dispute with an insurance company. But I make sure I insure my car because it is the law.

    So there are things I do that I do not like, never mind, enjoy, but I do them because I would much rather be on the right side of the law.

    Paying taxes does not fall in this category either.

    I happen to believe in the paying of taxes. I happen to believe in the common good and until the experts come up with some other mechanism that will bring revenue to the State, taxes would have to be the way to keep the State running.

    The law obliges me to pay taxes, I do not dislike paying my taxes, but I suspect that part of the unstated reason I don’t mind paying taxes comes from the expectation that this is something all of us must do.

    I have been watching the current events surrounding the GRA with keen interest.

    If restaurant owners and shopkeepers collect VAT from us customers, what they collect cannot fall into the category of the taxes that the restaurant owners and shopkeepers have to pay.

    It is not money that they have to struggle with their conscience or ideology to decide whether to pay or not. It is not part of their profit or investment or operating capital.

    It is money they have collected for the GRA.

    By the time the VAT is collected, all the arguments, questions and hesitations about whether to pay taxes or not would have been concluded.

    I do not understand how it came about that the GRA should be so lax that monies collected for them by shopkeepers and restaurant owners would become subjects over which major operations have to be planned.

    I am hearing stories of shops who regularly make VAT returns of about GH¢30,000 a month, suddenly turning in GH¢1,000,000 once the “invigilation” and “E-VAT” torch is turned on their operations.

    I refuse to believe that such a state of affairs could exist without the active connivance of GRA officials.

    This is money we customers have already factored into our hike in cost of living lamentations; it is money for which we have already cursed the authorities and paid with reluctant smiles.

    In my book, keeping such monies sounds like stealing to me and not the fancy words the GRA is giving it.

    Source: Graphiconline.com

  • GUTA suspends strike after ‘goodwill’ from government

    The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has ended its strike after two days and urged its members to reopen their shops today, Friday.

    The union in a statement said consultations with the government and Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II had led to the softening of its stance.

    GUTA had been protesting because of Ghana’s forex challenges and the rising cost of doing business.

    The cedi has been noted as the worst-performing currency and has fallen by over 50 percent to the dollar in 2022.

    But citing goodwill from the government, the union said the government plans to put together a working committee made up of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, National security and GUTA, to “swiftly come out with pragmatic measures to solve the challenges.”

    It also said it had been assured that its recommendations “would be factored in the ongoing IMF discussions.”

    The government hopes to receive $3 billion under an IMF extended credit facility programme to support the economy and open the doors to more borrowing on the international market.

    Among interventions and concessions the government has made to GUTA, a Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Michael Okyere Baafi, said a fixed exchange rate will be maintained at the ports for the next three months to cushion traders who import goods.

    The Deputy Minister also said the government will suspend the ongoing invigilation by the Ghana Revenue Authority that has resulted in protests and the closure of businesses, specifically in Adum, Kumasi.

    Source: Citinews

  • Tax compliance: Your taxes accountability is very weak, do better – Fiscal Policy expert to government

    A Fiscal Policy expert at OXFAM Ghana, Dr. Alex Ampabeng, has asked the government to better account for designated taxes if tax compliance is to improve.

    He argued that “government accountability around taxation is very weak, and that in itself does not enhance compliance.”

    Dr. Ampabeng explained that these compliance challenges were a result of a lack of trust in the state.

    He referenced the sanitation fee as an example of a tax for which the government has not properly accounted.

    “Can we really sit down and ask ourselves what has the government done with that revenue? If you cannot account, compliance will suffer. We cannot talk about tax payment without saying what the taxes are used for” he quizzed.

    Dr Ampabeng stressed that citizens would accept and comply with tax paying when “the taxes they are paying are not going down the drain”.

    It was on the same tax compliance challenge that Ghana Revenue Authority was compelled to close 13 shopping centres on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, because their systems were not linked to an E-VAT Invoicing system that certified invoices and gave real-time sales reports.

    The Authority engaged taxpayers concerning the issue and gave them two months grace period to hook onto the system, Mr Annan said.

    Many traders in fast-moving goods, such as milk, gum, fruits, and vegetables, also closed their shops in Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region to protest government taxes they claim are exorbitant.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • GMA threatens to shut down all health facilities nationwide in protest of new tax system by GRA

    The Ghana Medical Association says it will force government to shut down health facilities nationwide in protest of a new tax system by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) that aims at shortchanging them.

    The president of GMA Dr. Frank Serebour disclosed that GRA is introducing a new tax system that will take taxes from the association’s generated funds.

    The Association believes GRA’s move to ask them to pay such taxes is unfair arguing that their members have already paid taxes on the salary they deduct their dues from.

    Dr. Frank Serebour has therefore threatened to lead the association to an unprecedented nationwide protest if GRA fails to rescind the decision to surcharge them.

    Speaking on Pure FM on Saturday, October 15, 2022, Dr. Serebour said this was the first time GRA is calling on the Association to pay such tax since its inception in over six decades.

    “We won’t sit down to allow anybody, whether it is a government agency or the government itself, to collapse the association. That will not happen under my watch.”

    He stressed that there should have been more dialogue on the taxes by the GRA.

    “If anything at all, the first point was engagement. If something like that is going to happen, somebody should be engaging and not write that kind of letter.”

    GMA threatens to shut down all health facilities nationwide protest of new tax system by GRA.

  • OXFAM analyst backs GRA’s recent tax compliance efforts

    A Fiscal Policy analyst at OXFAM Ghana, Dr. Alex Ampabeng, has backed the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) moves to clamp down on business in the name of boosting tax revenue.

    Dr. Ampabeng stressed that Ghana needed to be working to improve tax compliance.

    He also said the GRA needed to be commended for taking the initiative to raise the needed revenue for the government.

    “Coming to revenue collection, Ghana is only making about under 13 percent of GDP… there are leakages in the system. Tax compliance is really weak, especially within the very sectors they are looking at.”

    “I think GRA deserves our support… we are going to the IMF and one of the major reasons is we are not collecting enough taxes,” he said on The Big Issue.

    The GRA this week closed some shops for failing to integrate their value-added tax (VAT) invoices into the authority’s newly deployed eE-VAT Invoicing system as a measure to help it block revenue loopholes.

    The system will allow the authority to monitor sales real-time.

    Four branches of Palace Mall and some branches of China Mall were affected in the exercise.

    National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party Henry Nana Boakye popularly known as Nana B however called on the revenue authority to re-evaluate the decision.

    Fifty companies were selected to be linked to this E-VAT Invoicing system that will certify all invoices and give real-time reporting of sales.

    The deadline for this process was October 1.

    The GRA has said the locked-up businesses will be reopened once they connect to the authority’s E-VAT Invoicing system.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • GRA congratulates Petrosol for tax compliance

    The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has congratulated Petrosol Ghana Ltd, a privately-owned indigenous oil marketing company (OMC), for its tax compliance efforts.

    A letter by Rev. Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, and addressed to the Managing Director of Petrosol indicated that the Revenue Assurance, Compliance and Enforcement committee of the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the GRA, the National Petroleum Authority and the Association of Oil Marketing Companies conducted a reconciliation exercise to confirm petroleum taxes paid by oil marketing companies between January 2015 and July 2020.

    Letter

    After the exercise, the letter indicated, the GRA could certify that Petrosol was not indebted to the GRA in respect of petroleum taxes and levies as it had paid all the taxes and levies amounting to about GH¢476 million.

    The Commissioner-General expressed his satisfaction by urging Petrosol “to continue to play your roles as corporate citizens.

    Accept our congratulations on your compliance”.

    The Managing Director of Petrosol, Michael Bozumbil, expressed delight about the letter, indicating that it would serve as a morale booster for the company to continue on the path of ethical practices.

    He said notwithstanding the challenges in the industry and the economy as a whole, the company had resolved to continue to do what was right so as to contribute to government revenue and economic development.

    He expressed the hope that the state and its agencies would also support Petrosol to grow and do more for the state.
    Petrosol is a triple-ISO certified oil marketing company that has won several awards for its commitment to industry best practices and ethical conduct.

    It operates several fuel stations across the country, and supplies bulk consumers of petroleum products.

  • Ghana to start using SIGMAT Customs interconnection from 2023

    Ghana is to commence the use of the ECOWAS Regional Network for Transit Trade (SIGMAT) in the first quarter of 2023, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced.

    Mr Peter Antobre Ofori, Assistant Commissioner in charge of Transit at the Customs Division of GRA, said Ghana’s Customs administration has taken advanced steps to enrol in the SIGMAT system.

    Mr Ofori speaking on the new system in Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) forum said ECOWAS required all customs administrations to automate their systems adding that some countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia were yet to automate theirs.

    According to him, Ghana and Nigeria have done the automation but changed their systems, which required that they restart their networks.

    “Presently, we haven’t been able to roll unto the SIGMAT, but we are in the process; We have established limited communication with Togo and designed a road map with Cote D’Ivoire and we are constantly meeting to ensure we roll on,” he said.

    Mr Felix Kwakye, the Principal Programme Officer and Head of the Division of Tariff and Customs Procedures, at the ECOWAS Commission, said the SIGMAT system was an improvement over the Interstate Road Transit System which was a paper-based, manual system used in ECOWAS countries.

    Mr Kwakye indicated that for quite a while, ECOWAS had been looking at leveraging information, communication, and technology to reform the transit regime within West Africa, as a measure to improve and make it more efficient.

    “It will improve the exchange of messages between customs administrations based on the interconnectivity of the national customs IT systems; ECOWAS wants all 15 member states to roll unto the system.”

    He said the transit trade had led to a lot of apprehension and a sense of insecurity for many countries, making them put in place measures to secure revenue and maintain security thereby incurring a lot of cost and delay in the transit trade for which the ordinary consumer at the country of destination bore.

    He said to ensure that international conventions for trade were followed, and trade facilitated as efficiently as possible, SIGMAT was one of the interventions introduced to generate confidence in the transit trade and secure revenue.

    Mr Kwakye revealed that feedback on revenue generation and trade facilitation has been encouraging from countries that have begun the use of the system.

    He disclosed that processes have been undertaken for a “community guarantee mechanism” under the SIGMAT system, explaining that the bonds issued to cover cargoes on transit would have to be valid in every country throughout the entire transit corridor.

    He added that the selected guarantor would have to be represented in all of those countries, stating that this measure and others were taken under the new ECOWAS regime were all geared towards checking cargo diversion.

    The SIGMAT system according to customs would come at no extra cost to importers and exporters in the sub-region.

    The system began pilotage in 2019, and in December 2021, the various heads of state within ECOWAS adopted a supplementary act on ECOWAS Community Transit which binds all member countries to implement the system.

    The SIGMAT system which is already being operated in some Francophone countries is expected to enhance custom-to-custom communication, improve data collection, facilitate trade and secure revenue.

    Source: GNA 

  • GRA shuts down 13 shopping centres over E-VAT invoicing in three days, more to follow 

    Over the past few days, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has embarked on a mission to close down shopping centres that have failed to comply with the authority’s electronic VAT (E-VAT) invoicing regime.

    So far, the operations of 13 shopping centres in Accra have been brought to an abrupt end.

    This, according to the GRA, forms part of initiatives to crack down on non-compliance with E-VAT invoicing introduced by the Authority.

    The Authority rolled out the E-invoicing system for VAT collectors on October 1, 2022.  

    Unlike the manual system, the GRA stated that through the E-VAT invoicing system, the Authority can track the transactions of these entities, making it impossible for taxpayers to either under invoice or avoid the payment of VAT.  

    According to the GRA Area Enforcement Manager of Accra Central, Joseph Annan, about 50 tax-paying companies are supposed to be enrolled in the Certified Invoicing System.

    However, since the inception of the policy, he indicated that only 25 companies have complied.

    Mr. Annan noted that closing these malls is essential to enhancing Ghana’s domestic tax mobilisation efforts. 

     “We are working with a number of taxpayers, and those taxpayers have been earmarked for the first phase of the invoicing implementation. Now those taxpayers that refuse to be on board are the taxpayers that we have taken the necessary sanction against,” he said.

    List of shopping centres closed 

    Officials of the GRA have shut down five branches of the Palace and China Mall and three branches of the Game Mall. 

    Five branches of the Palace Mall at the Labone, Spintex, Madina and Weija were closed down on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.

     On Monday, October 10, 2022, the Spintex Road, Weija branch, Ashaiman branches of China Mall were also shut down. 

    Also, the Game Shopping Centre at the Accra Mall, Achimota Mall and the Westhills Mall faced similar punitive measures on Wednesday, October 12. 

    In a related development, the Regal Chinese Restaurant in Osu, four cold stores at Tema and a beverage distribution company; Josh Nartey ventures and UnderBridge event Centre located in East Legon, have all been shut down for similar reasons.

    According to Mr Annan, will only be open to the public after management of these businesses complies with the E-VAT invoicing.

    He further issued a word of caution to companies yet to enrol on the Certified Invoicing System to do so before the law catches up with them.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Tax protest: GUTA hints closure of shops in Accra over GRA’s new system

    President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Joseph Obeng, has dropped a hint concerning the closure of shops in Accra to protest the unfair implementation of tax measures by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

    This development comes after traders in parts of the central business district of Adum in Kumasi locked up their shops in protest against rising taxation on their goods.

    The traders attributed the action to the pressure to honour payment of income tax, high cost of store rentals and charges from the metropolitan assembly.

    They have argued that the cumulative taxes are crippling their businesses and have vowed to sustain the action until the GRA withdraws their personnel stationed at shops to record sales of products for tax purposes.

    Reacting to the protest on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, President for the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Joseph Obeng described the compulsory implementation of the new electronic platform by GRA as imbalanced.

    He added that what GRA has done to the VAT system makes compliance very difficult.

    According to Joseph Obeng, the Greater Accra Regional Branch of GUTA will meet to take the necessary steps to protest GRA’s unfairness.

    “The capital of most traders have depleted over 50%. The value of our monies has reduced. You have a system that does not ensure fairness, you have a system that does not ensure equity, you have a system that runs trade concurrently in the same market that we have the standard rate that one pays 90.25 percent and then we have VAT rate of four percent and then we have those who do not pay the VAT at all and they are all legitimate. What system is this? We will make a definite statement come Tuesday and everyone will know the way forward,” GUTA President Joseph Obeng told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.

     

  • GRA urges taxpayers to hook on the electronic-invoicing system

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has urged all taxpayers to hook on to the electronic invoicing system for Value Added Tax (E-VAT) to allow monitoring.

    The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority on October 1, 2022, began its certified electronic invoicing system to ensure all invoices that are issued by taxpayers are witnessed by the Commissioner’s system.

    The electronic invoicing system will be authenticated with an app and deployment of compliance officers to ensure its enforcement.

    There are 50 taxpayers selected across and enrolled on the system. The selected 50 reflect all types of taxpayers registered with the Authority of which some are complying, and others are not.

    The Authority will ensure no operations of customers until they hook on to the system.

    In a brief meeting with the media on Tuesday, at the Head Office of the Ghana Revenue Authority Accra, Mr Kwesi Eghan, Deputy Commissioner for Operations at the GRA, said the exercise would continue until each taxpayer was fully compliant, 600 additional taxpayers will be enrolled by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

    The whole exercise will see its conclusion by 2024 when all taxpayers will be using the Commissioner-General’s invoicing system.

    “This closing down of shops is not the path the Authority is forging willingly; it is a last resort action. We will advise that you comply before we start this whole exercise,” he said.

    He urged taxpayers to effectively roll out the Commissioner-General’s system to help curb the illegal issuance of own invoices to help generate revenue for the government.

    He said the exercise was targeted at the initial selected 50 taxpayers, who are supposed to hook on to the system.

    “It is not as if all other taxpayers are not compliant, quite a number are hooked on the system voluntarily as mandated by the Authority,” he added.

    He said non-compliant taxpayers would be prevented from operating until hooked on to the system, “if you have six branches and one is closed, you will be prevented from operating from any branch across the country till all six shops are hooked on the system,” he said.

    The Authority is embarking on several exercises, including invigilation by officers, electronic invoicing exercises, test-purchase exercises, and enforcement of taxpayers to register with the Authority.

    Source: GNA

  • More shutdowns coming – GRA warns defaulting malls, shops after closure of Palace, others

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued a word of caution to companies that are yet to enroll on a Certified Invoicing System for the administration of Value Added Tax (VAT) in Ghana, following the amendment of the VAT Act 870.

    The Authority, in the past days has closed some major shopping malls including Palace and China mall branches.

    This comes after the GRA began an exercise to ensure compliance by some 50 selected tax-paying companies to be enrolled on the Certified Invoicing System.

    The move, according to the GRA, is necessary to help improve Ghana’s domestic tax mobilization efforts.

    According to the Deputy Commissioner, Operations-DTRD, Kwesi Eghan, the China and Palace malls are part of the 50 selected tax-paying companies which have failed to comply with the GRA’s requirements.

    Mr. Eghan further went on to caution other companies who he noted have also duly been informed about the system and the need to enroll, to do so before the law catches up with them.

    “For the 50 people we are talking about, if you have not yet enrolled, we plead with you to do so before the enforcement officers get to your businesses otherwise we will close your shops until you follow due process, he said while speaking in an interview with the UTV.

    Mr. Eghan indicated despite these companies having been informed about the deadline for enrolment on the system – October 12, 2022, only 25 out of the 50 entities have so far complied.

    “We want to improve compliance. We are more interested in collaboration than chasing businesses to pay their taxes. But we have no option at this moment than to move swiftly to ensure the right thing is done,” he said in an interview with the media.

    Meanwhile, Kwesi Eghan has noted that the GRA hopes to enrol 600 large taxpayers into the system in its first implementation phase, which is expected to end in December 2023.

    He added that by 2024, all taxpayers would have been fully integrated into the platform.

     

  • Ashanti Regional Minister to meet protesting Kumasi traders today

    The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah is expected to meet traders of the Adum Business Community today, Thursday, October 13, 2022.

    The meeting has been necessitated by an ongoing protest by the traders, who are lamenting what they refer to as high taxes on their businesses.

    The traders in Adum have since Monday closed their shops, while others in areas such as Bantama have replicated the action.

    Citi News sources indicate that the minister engaged officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority on Wednesday over concerns of the traders.

    Some businesses in Kumasi have not been operating for the past three days in protest of the uneven implementation of the Value Added Tax.

    The protesting businesses have complained that the tax structure and its administration do not support the features of the fast-moving goods market.

    They also said the lack of VAT compliance means the compliant businesses are competing with fellow businesses offering cheaper prices.

    The national representative for the traders, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), has thrown its weight behind the actions of the business operators.

    In addition, the traders have also been concerned with the strength of the cedi.

    The Ghana cedi has depreciated by 37.5% to the US dollar as of the end of September 2022 according to the Bank of Ghana.

    Currently, the dollar is trading at a little over GH¢11 to $1.

    GUTA has warned of more agitations across the country if the concerns of traders are not addressed.

    “First, we were managing our frustration, but now our frustration has turned into anger and that is what is showing in the business community. This is only the beginning because others are going to follow. If I listen to the agitations of our members, it means that a lot more is going to follow, and it is going to be massive”, says GUTA president, Dr. Joseph Obeng.

    Source: Citinews

  • GRA urges taxpayers to hook on the electronic-invoicing system

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has urged all taxpayers to hook on to the electronic invoicing system for Value Added Tax (E-VAT) to allow monitoring.

    The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority on October 1, 2022, began its certified electronic invoicing system to ensure all invoices that are issued by taxpayers are witnessed by the Commissioner’s system.

    The electronic invoicing system will be authenticated with an app and deployment of compliance officers to ensure its enforcement.

    There are 50 taxpayers selected across and enrolled on the system. The selected 50 reflect all types of taxpayers registered with the Authority of which some are complying, and others are not.

    The Authority will ensure no operations of customers until they hook on to the system.

    In a brief meeting with the media on Tuesday, at the Head Office of the Ghana Revenue Authority Accra, Mr Kwesi Eghan, Deputy Commissioner for Operations at the GRA, said the exercise would continue until each taxpayer was fully compliant, 600 additional taxpayers will be enrolled by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

    The whole exercise will see its conclusion by 2024 when all taxpayers will be using the Commissioner-General’s invoicing system.

    “This closing down of shops is not the path the Authority is forging willingly; it is a last resort action. We will advise that you comply before we start this whole exercise,” he said.

    He urged taxpayers to effectively roll out the Commissioner-General’s system to help curb the illegal issuance of own invoices to help generate revenue for the government.

    He said the exercise was targeted at the initial selected 50 taxpayers, who are supposed to hook on to the system.

    “It is not as if all other taxpayers are not compliant, quite a number are hooked on the system voluntarily as mandated by the Authority,” he added.

    He said non-compliant taxpayers would be prevented from operating until hooked on to the system, “if you have six branches and one is closed, you will be prevented from operating from any branch across the country till all six shops are hooked on the system,” he said.

    The Authority is embarking on several exercises, including invigilation by officers, electronic invoicing exercises, test-purchase exercises, and enforcement of taxpayers to register with the Authority.

    Source: GNA

  • Game branch at Accra Mall shut down over E-VAT Invoicing system

    The Ghana Revenue Authority has shut down the Game shopping centre in Accra Mall over non-compliance with the E-VAT Invoicing system.

    This brings to 10, the number of shops and supermarkets locked up by the tax collector since Monday.

    Major chains like Palace Mall and China Mall have also been closed down.

    All customers making purchases at the time of the visit were asked to move out after the management of the mall consulted with their head office in South Africa.

    The GRA has stressed that it will not relent in its efforts at ensuring compliance with its electronic invoicing system.

    Addressing the media earlier, Kwasi Eghan, Deputy Commissioner of operations in charge of GRA’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division, said he was hopeful that all businesses expected on the platform would do so by the end of this week.

    “I am sure some people are just trying to see what will happen if they do not hook on, we will close you down. If we close down, you are not going to reopen until we are done with the process of hooking you up,” he said.

  • GRA cracks down on businesses, Palace and China Mall closed down

    Ghana Revenue Authority’s enforcement of the E-VAT Invoicing system introduced on October 1, 2022, has led to the closure of four branches of Palace Mall.

    On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the Labone, Spintex, Atomic roundabout and Weija branches of Palace Mall were closed down.

    This is not the first company to be penalised for failing to fix their tax electronic collection system to enable the GRA access its data.

    On Monday, October 10, 2022, the Spintex Road and Ashaiman branches of China Mall were shut down until a time management of the company decides to implement the E-VAT in its operations.

    The GRA enforcement team has also shut down the Weija branch of the China Mall, bringing the number of branches of the company to five. Per reports, the Weija branch has also been closed down.

    Meanwhile, the GRA has pledged to hunt down companies reject- ing the Electronic VAT system (e-VAT).

    He said the Authority is mandated to ensure maximum compliance with all relevant tax laws in order to ensure a sustainable revenue stream for government, trade facilitation and a controlled and safe flow of goods across the country’s borders, thus all flouting companies would be brought to book.

    “We shall not rest until the right thing is done, because as I always say, we don’t feel comfortable going around closing shops and do- ing all these operations. But the citizens have paid us to work and so we shall ensure that the right thing is done,” he said.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Traders in Accra to shut their stores in solidarity with counterparts in Kumasi over taxes

    Retail trade in the country could grind to a halt by the close of work on Wednesday as the Greater Accra Regional branch of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) joins their counterparts in Kumasi to close down their shops.

    This is in protest of what they describe as the unfair implementation of tax measures by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

    The shutdown of shops is in its third day in Kumasi and the traders have vowed to sustain the action until the GRA withdraws their personnel stationed at shops, restaurants, and other businesses to record sales of products for tax purposes.

    The National President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng, in this regard urged its members nationwide to close their shops, accusing the GRA of unfairness and high handedness in the implementation of the policy.

    “You have a system that does not ensure fairness, you have a system that does not ensure equity, you have a system that runs trade concurrently in the same market that we have the standard rate that one pays 90.25 percent and then we have VAT rate of four percent and then we have those who do not pay the VAT at all and they are all legitimate. What system is this?” he questioned GRA.

    According to him, “what GRA has done to the VAT system makes compliance very difficult.”

    This, he claims, is due to the current economic downturn, which makes it difficult for businesses to thrive with exchange rates collapsing their capitals.

    But the Ghana Revenue Authority says it won’t tolerate excuses from companies who refuse to register on its new electronic platform.

    The Authority has already shut down major trading franchises including the China Mall, Palace Mall and the Regal Chinese Restaurant in Osu for failing to list.

    The officials of the GRA are on the move again saying there are more companies that will suffer closure if they ignore the caution.

    Mr. Phillip Acquah, the Assistant Commissioner, VAT Administration, at the GRA urged businesses to cooperate with the Authority to ensure that their systems are onboard the platform.

    Meanwhile, an executive member of the Adum Traders Association in Ghana, Charles Appiah Kubi said that until the challenges are resolved, they will remain closed indefinitely.

    According to him, as businesses, they are not against the payment of taxes, however the structure of the VAT system is hindering the payment.

    “We have not said that we don’t want to pay taxes … our market is so unique that you do not impose taxes that do not sit with the dynamics within the market ..so when you introduce VAT into our system, you have few businesses that have registered for VAT if they have to add the six percent levy on it, their prices go so high that customers do not to buy from them and rather buy from those not registered for VAT with cheaper prices,” he said.

    Source: Myinfo

  • Judges’ residential complex in Kumasi to be commissioned on Monday – CJ reveals

    The Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah has announced the judges residential complex in Kumasi in the Ashanti region is going to be commissioned next week Monday.

    The Chief Justice said this when he was speaking during a meeting with the leadership of Judicial Service Staff association of Ghana in Accra on Tuesday October 11.

    Explaining why he appeared late at the meeting, he said “Please accept my apology for not being here on time. Indeed, yesterday I was unable to come to work because I had to attend to more pressing matter in Kumasi and I came just this morning. As some of you may be aware, we are going to commission the residential complex in Kumasi on Monday  and we have invited some of the Directors to be with us.

    “So, I had to spend the whole time with the consultant, the contractors, and the regional  Minister.”

    In April last year, President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of 20 residential facilities for Court of Appeal judges in Kumasi.

    Supported by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Chief Justice, Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah, President Akufo-Addo cut the sod to signify the beginning of construction works for the accommodation facilities.

    “With the collaboration of the Ministry of Local Government and the District Assembly Common Fund, 20 townhouses and a guesthouse are being built to be used as permanent residences for Court of Appeal Judges based in Kumasi, who will be mandated to handle cases in the northern part of the country,” Mr Akufo-Addo said.

     

     

     

     

  • Shop owners flee, others arrested as GRA, VAT invigilators chase tax defaulters in Accra

    The VAT Invigilation taskforce inspecting the receipt and sales books of one of the businesses.

    Operators of eight cold stores at the Takyi Yard Cold Stores Enclave in Tema on Friday closed their stores and absconded before officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), undertaking a Value Added Tax (VAT) inspection exercise, arrived at the premises.

    The VAT invigilation taskforce was in the area to conduct the exercise following an intel that the operators, although registered to issue VAT receipts, were not issuing to customers.

    The very busy enclave, usually characterised by brisk business on Fridays, turned into a ghost town when news went round that the GRA taskforce was conducting a VAT invigilation exercise.

    Earlier, the Taskforce locked up The Underbridge, a popular event centre at East Legon, Accra, for failing to register and issue VAT invoices to customers.

    Also, the operators of Josnartey Ventures, Isaac Glavi Trading Enterprise, Perez Frozen Foods, all at Tema, were arrested and taken to the head office of the GRA to answer why they failed to issue VAT invoices to their customers.

    Sales and receipt books belonging to the operators were also confiscated for VAT assessment.

    Mr Joseph Annan, Area Enforcement Manager of Accra Central, GRA, who led the exercise, said the taskforce would review its invigilation strategy at areas where business operators absconded to ensure they all complied with the VAT provisions.

    He said the arrested business operators would be investigated and charged for their actions.

    Mr Annan stated that they would be assessed preemptively and investigated to pay the taxes lost before a full audit was undertaken to determine the full impact of their actions on other levies they were expected to pay.

    He noted that they would then be prosecuted by the GRA legal unit for failing to comply with the tax law.

    “Once VAT is under-declared, other taxes will be affected. The investigations will help to determine the impact of their actions so the expected sanctions are applied,” Mr Annan added.

    He urged businesses registered for VAT to issue the VAT invoice at all times as required by law to avoid facing the sanctions and prosecutions.

    “We are in town enforcing the issuance of VAT invoices. I urge all businesses to do the right thing as expected of them. We will continue the exercise until all businesses comply with the law,” he stated.

    Mr Annan further advised the public to demand the VAT invoice whenever they make purchases to support government’s efforts to raise revenue.

  • GRA closes China Mall for refusing to fix electronic VAT system

    The enforcement team of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has locked the Chinese retail shop, China Mall, and its warehouses on the Spintex Road and Ashaiman in the Greater Accra region.

    The action, follows the inability of the company to fix its electronic tax collection system to enable the GRA access the data.

    The GRA on October 1, 2022, started the Electronic VAT system to block leakages in revenue collection as well as ascertain the actual income of businesses.

    According to the Accra Area Enforcement Manager, Joseph Annan, the action has become necessary after many attempts to get the company to comply with the law failed.

    “This is just for them to fix their system for the electronic VAT. We have engaged them on several occasions to get this simple system fixed.  The place shall be sealed and locked until they comply with the law”.

    “This is part of the enforcement exercise which we are doing at all China Mall branches”, he told Joy Business.

    Meanwhile, managers of the mall got a wind of the action and closed the shopping centre even before the enforcement team arrived at the premises.

    Again, workers at the warehouse were protesting during the action.

    Mr. Annan stated that the GRA will extend the exercise to all branches of China Mal in the country.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • Traders in Kumasi shut down shops in protest of ‘killer taxes’ on businesses

    Traders within the Central Business District in the Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region have closed down their shops to protest what they say are exorbitant taxes imposed on businesses by the government.

    Most of the locked-up shops had red bands tied on them as traders say the protest will last for three days.

    The traders are also kicking against a decision by the Ghana Revenue Authority to station their officers at each shop to record Value Added Tax (VAT) on products they sell.

    The affected shops are for traders who deal in groceries and are situated at Pampaso and PZ in the Central Business District.

    Some of the shop owners who spoke to Citi News want the government to reduce the taxes on businesses.

  • Ghana Revenue Authority to commence auctioning vehicles online from October 2

    The Ghana Revenue Authority will begin auctioning off vehicles on an online platform from Friday, October 21, 2022.

    The intention is to help eradicate corruption related to the auctioning of goods at ports.

    Selected vehicles will be auctioned off as part of a pilot programme for the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) platform known as the E-Auction module.

    Anyone with an interest can visit http://auction.icums.gov.gh.

    At a ceremony last week to introduce the GRA Service Charter, Commissioner-General of the GRA Rev. Amisshadai Owusu Amoah said potential car buyers would place bids online without physically attending the event.

    Considering that there is no requirement for physical appearance, it will also give potential car buyers the chance to submit bids whenever it is convenient for them.

    Customers can make payments immediately after their bids are electronically approved.

    JoyNews in 2020 reported that Ghana loses thousands of cedis as a result of confiscated cars being auctioned cheaply to people who are politically connected.

    At least in one case, the duty on a vehicle was found to have been paid for by the Office of the President.

    In another instance, only GH¢25,000 was paid on a vehicle when the estimated duty ought to have been GH¢80,000.

    It will also be recalled that in September 2022, the Office of the Special OSP paved the way for the Customs Division of the GRA to commence the auction of vehicles and other goods.

    This was after an initial directive issued on August 19, 2022, for the authorities to halt such activities following suspected corruption are politically connected.

    At least in one case, the duty on a vehicle was found to have been paid for by the Office of the President.

    In another instance, only GH¢25,000 was paid on a vehicle when the estimated duty ought to have been GH¢80,000.

    It will also be recalled that in September 2022, the Office of the Special OSP paved the way for the Customs Division of the GRA to commence the auction of vehicles and other goods.

    This was after an initial directive issued on August 19, 2022, for the authorities to halt such activities following suspected corruption in our various offices. Another initiative is that by the end of October, we want to begin an E-Auction at the ports so that if you want to buy a car, just be home and click to search for the kind of car you want without coming to the port,” he added.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Do the right thing else we’ll come after you – GRA warns tax defaulters

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has vowed to clamp down on entities that fail to comply with tax obligations.

    This comes after six companies were shut down on Friday for tax evasion offences as part of efforts by the GRA to boost revenue mobilization.

    Speaking to the media after the closure of the facilities, the Enforcement Manager of GRA, Joseph Annan urged firms evading taxes to desist from the act else they will face the consequences.

    “We will always be on the field. We will knock on doors but if you run today, you may not run forever because we will surely knock on your door. Companies must do the right thing by paying all their taxes”, he advised.

    The Domestic Tax Revenue Division of the GRA, shut down operations of the UnderBridge event Centre located in East Legon for failing to register for Value Added Tax (VAT).

    This action was part of moves by the authority to check entities failing to honour their tax obligations, leading to loss of revenue to the state.

    Five other firms including four cold stores at Tema and a beverage distribution company; Josh Nartey ventures were also closed.

    The GRA says the offences of these companies include the non-registration of Value Added Tax (VAT) and the non-issuance of invoices.

    ”We got intel that they were not registered. We also did our own background checks and confirmed it.”

    ”We have locked up the place. They must do the needful by registering, and then we look at the sanctions for non-registration, after which we will open up the place”, Mr. Annan said.

    He added that, the action by the firms contributes to revenue loss to the state.

     

  • 8 cold stores abscond from GRA’s grip

    About eight cold stores within the Tema cold store enclave at a place known as Takyi Yard in Community 1, have absconded upon receiving hints that the Ghana Revenue Authority’s VAT invigilation taskforce was in the area to check if their businesses are tax compliant.

    The eight have not erected any signpost of their business names, and some buyers who were around at the time of the visit confirmed not being issued VAT receipts.

    The Area Enforcement Manager of GRA in charge of Accra Central, Mr Joseph Annan who led the taskforce during the operations, told the B&FT that the shops would remain closed until the right thing is done.

    “We will come back again to effect arrest since they have all run away” Mr Annan said.

    He said it was important for these cold stores to register and honour their tax obligations to government, a phenomenon that would enable them to be regarded as legal and responsible businesses.

    Meanwhile, the Underbridge Event Centre at East Legon, have also been closed by the GRA for non-registration for VAT.

    Others, including, Perez Frozen Foods, Isaac Glavi Trading Enterprise, Wanmafe Company Ltd, Josh Nartey Enterprise were also closed down and arrested for various infractions including non-registration, non-issuance among others.

    The various infractions contravene the VAT Act 2013, Act 870.

     

  • E-levy: GRA blames charging entities for wrongful deductions

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has blamed charging entities for wrongful deductions with the E-levy implementation.

    The Authority said even though some customers have updated their information with charging entities, the entities have failed to do same with the GRA.

    “We are aware of these wrongful charges. The good news is that there is an avenue for customers to make complaints when there are wrongful charges.

    What we have also noticed is that customers have gone to the charging entities, especially the banks, to update their information, but the charging entities have failed to update same with GRA,” Head of Project Management at GRA, Isaac Kwabena Amoako said in a media interview.

    Mr Amoako thus urged persons affected to report to their charging entities for a refund.

    “Anyone who has been wrongfully charged has an obligation to report to their charging entities.

    They are not supposed to reach out to GRA. Coming to us means that you are reporting the charging entities,” he added.

    Meanwhile, he said customers can report to the GRA after they have reported to the charging entities but have not gotten the desired result.

    Some Ghanaians have taken to social media to complain about unlawful charges on their transactions, even though they have successfully linked their Ghana Card details with their SIM cards.

    However, the GRA has absolved itself of any blame.

    Source: Myjoyonline

  • Report wrongful E-Levy charges to your charging entities – GRA

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has directed Ghanaians who have been wrongfully charged the E-Levy on their first GH¢100 transaction to report to their charging entities for redress.

    Some Ghanaians have taken to social media to complain about unlawful charges on their transactions, even though they have successfully linked their Ghana Card details with their SIM cards.

    Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Head of Project Management at GRA, Isaac Kwabena Amoako, explained that the various charging entities may have not updated the Ghana card details of their customers, thus the wrongful deductions.

    “We are aware of these wrongful charges. The good news is that there is an avenue for customers to make complaints when there are wrongful charges. What we have also noticed is that customers have gone to the charging entities, especially the banks, to update their information, but the charging entities have failed to update same with GRA.”

    “Anyone who has been wrongfully charged has an obligation to report to their charging entities. They are not supposed to reach out to GRA. Coming to us means that you are reporting the charging entities. You only report to us when you do not get the desired results after contacting your charging entities.”

     

     

     

  • GRA digital VAT invoicing takes off today, set to eliminate abuse, increase revenue

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stepped up efforts to increase tax compliance and generate more revenue with the introduction of an electronic (e) invoicing system that eliminates the various abuses used by taxpayers to deny the state huge revenue.

    The authority rolled out the e-invoicing system for value added tax (VAT) from October 1 to 600 large taxpayers that generate more than 90 per cent of VAT revenue.

    The exercise is expected to cover medium-sized taxpayers by 2023 before being extended to all businesses in 2024.

    Unlike the manual system, the e-invoicing system allows the GRA to monitor live transactions in companies where it has been deployed, thereby making it impossible for taxpayers to either under invoice or dodge the payment of VAT.

    GRA estimates show that the country’s VAT contributions to tax revenue could be increased to 30 per cent from the current 18 per cent if the various abuses that the manual invoicing system is pronged to decisively be dealt with.

    The system was rolled out simultaneously with an electronic tax clearance certificate (TCC) system that also seeks to remove the abuses the current system is prone to.

    The Head of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) at GRA, Edward Apenteng Gyamerah, told journalists on Friday that the two programmes formed part of a tax digitalization agenda being championed by the authority.

    He said the authority was optimistic that the e-invoicing and the e-TCC would help increase revenue generations by removing the malpractices that the manual systems had been subjected to.

    Last month, GRA swoops and mystery purchases in various companies that led to the discovery of non-compliant institutions and the temporary closure of their operations.

    Mr Gyamerah said together with the e-invoicing, the GRA was hoping to raise VAT contribution to total revenue from the current 18 per cent to 30 per cent by 2024.

    He said while VAT collections in Ghana’s peer nations amounted to 30 per cent per annum, that of Ghana was around 18 per cent.

    This, he said meant that more VAT revenue was being lost through the abuses that the manual system was subjected to.

    To help deal with this, the Head of DTRD said authority and the government amended Section 42 of the VAT Act, (2013) Act 870 as amended to make e-invoicing compulsory and the only medium for issuing VAT invoices.

    “Through this, we will be able to improve upon compliance, we will have audit trail and that will allow us to know the volume of transactions every minute for us to assess the taxes appropriately,” he said.

    Speaking on the mode of implementation, Mr Gyamerah said the system would be deployed using two different routes.

    He said for businesses that had their own platform for issuing VAT, GRA connected its software for generating the e-VAT invoices into theirs to allow for take off.

    But for businesses that did not have their own systems, he said the authority would give its software to them at no cost.

    On the e-TCC, he said businesses only needed to enter their details into the e-TCC portal created by GRA for the certificates to be generated automatically.

    Source:graphic.com

  • Repatriate $100m oil money back into the PHF without delay – Mahama to Ofori-Atta

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has described as “disconcerting” news that some $100 million has been diverted from petroleum funds for unapproved expenditure.

    Mr. Mahama said Section 3 of the PRMA (Act 815) is explicit that all Petroleum revenue due the Republic derived from whatever source shall be assessed, collected and accounted for by the Ghana Revenue Authority.

    In a Facebook post, he quoted Section (15) of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act (Act 919), which states that “Any borrowing exceeding the cedi equivalent of thirty million United States Dollars for exploration, development and production shall be approved by Parliament and shall be in consonance with the Petroleum Revenue Management Act.”

    He said there can be no justification for diverting revenues accruing from the nation’s share of petroleum resources into any other account aside from the PHF.

    The former President, therefore, called on the Minister for Finance to immediately repatriate all such illegal payments back into the PHF without delay as there is no record to confirm parliamentary approval on any such loans acquired by GNPC in their work programme.

    Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Mines and Energy Committee of Parliament, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, has said no $100 million oil money due Ghana is missing,

    According to him, the money was used to settle upfront, a loan taken from the ministry of finance by GNPC Subsidiaries, to acquire a seven per cent stake in the TEN and Jubilee oil fields on behalf of the state.

    In his view, therefore, even though administrative processes may not have been followed in terms of lodging the money in the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF), no harm was done to the state by the upfront payment of the loan taken by GNPC Subsidiaries using that quantum of petroleum receipts.

    Mr Atta Akyea told Kofi Oppong Asamoah on Class91.3FM’s breakfast show on Friday, 30 September 2020: “Well, I think it’s a storm in a teacup because sometimes the impression is being given that the money has been spirited away”.

    According to him, “there’s a whole debate, as to whether or not some money should be lodged in the petroleum holding fund, so, it’s an interpretation and accounting”.

    The former minister of Works and Housing said his crosschecks show that “there was an opinion from the attorney general to the effect that they needn’t place the money in that account for the simple reason that there’s a seven-per cent equity acquisition in the TEN and Jubilee fields by GNPC Subsidiary and they didn’t have the money so the ministry of finance borrowed them the money so they do this acquisition; they are trying to improve the governmental stakes in these petroleum blocks”.

    “When they [GNPC Subsidiaries] took the loan, they were unable to pay, so, they used the petroleum receipts due them to settle it, so, the ministry of finance took the money and paid for the loan upfront,” Mr. Atta Akyea explained.

    “The whole problem is simple: that the sheer fact that the money was not lodged in the PHF does not mean the money has been spirited away or stolen. … It’s all a balancing account, but when push it to the political dimension that some money has been spirited away, it leaves much to be desired,” he added.

    He said: “The sum of money, if you look at it, is equal to the seven per cent equity stake that the government, through GNPC Subsidiary, has acquired. Let’s look at it from that perspective. So, when somebody is using his ingenuity to confer advantage and benefit to Ghana, ultimately, how can that be a problem?”

    “And if the money was not so lodged in the PHF but it is shown that, indeed, the shares have been acquired, and the shares have been paid for, how can that be anything to undermine this country, financially?” he wondered.

    He continued: “Are we looking at the substance or the form? The sheer fact that the money was not lodged in the account, but the money has been applied as it can be applied in the share acquisition to the benefit of Ghana”.

    Mr. Atta Akyea, who is the MP for Akim Abuakwa South in the Eastern Region, said: “My concern, with the greatest of respect, is that even if administrative processes were not followed, is there any disadvantage to Ghana when seven per cent shares have been acquired in the TEN and Jubilee fields?”

    “That is the point of the matter. If administrative procedures were not followed, has it caused any financial loss to the state or it has helped us financially because if we are not careful, anything becomes political and propaganda”.

    He added: “My joy is that no money has been lost to the state yet because we have gained. If there are any tax implications on this transition, then they should be called upon to pay the tax”.

  • GRA digital VAT invoicing takes off today

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stepped up efforts to increase tax compliance and generate more revenue with the introduction of an electronic (e) invoicing system that eliminates the various abuses used by taxpayers to deny the state huge revenue.

    The authority rolled out the e-invoicing system for value added tax (VAT) from October 1 to 600 large taxpayers that generate more than 90 per cent of VAT revenue.

    The exercise is expected to cover medium-sized taxpayers by 2023 before being extended to all businesses in 2024.

    Unlike the manual system, the e-invoicing system allows the GRA to monitor live transactions in companies where it has been deployed, thereby making it impossible for taxpayers to either under invoice or dodge the payment of VAT.

    GRA estimates show that the country’s VAT contributions to tax revenue could be increased to 30 per cent from the current 18 per cent if the various abuses that the manual invoicing system is pronged to decisively be dealt with.

    The system was rolled out simultaneously with an electronic tax clearance certificate (TCC) system that also seeks to remove the abuses the current system is prone to.

    The Head of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) at GRA, Edward Apenteng Gyamerah, told journalists on Friday that the two programmes formed part of a tax digitalization agenda being championed by the authority.

    He said the authority was optimistic that the e-invoicing and the e-TCC would help increase revenue generations by removing the malpractices that the manual systems had been subjected to.

    Last month, GRA swoops and mystery purchases in various companies that led to the discovery of non-compliant institutions and the temporary closure of their operations.

    Mr Gyamerah said together with the e-invoicing, the GRA was hoping to raise VAT contribution to total revenue from the current 18 per cent to 30 per cent by 2024.

    He said while VAT collections in Ghana’s peer nations amounted to 30 per cent per annum, that of Ghana was around 18 per cent.

    This, he said meant that more VAT revenue was being lost through the abuses that the manual system was subjected to.

    To help deal with this, the Head of DTRD said authority and the government amended Section 42 of the VAT Act, (2013) Act 870 as amended to make e-invoicing compulsory and the only medium for issuing VAT invoices.

    “Through this, we will be able to improve upon compliance, we will have audit trail and that will allow us to know the volume of transactions every minute for us to assess the taxes appropriately,” he said.

    Speaking on the mode of implementation, Mr Gyamerah said the system would be deployed using two different routes.

    He said for businesses that had their own platform for issuing VAT, GRA connected its software for generating the e-VAT invoices into theirs to allow for take off.

    But for businesses that did not have their own systems, he said the authority would give its software to them at no cost.

    On the e-TCC, he said businesses only needed to enter their details into the e-TCC portal created by GRA for the certificates to be generated automatically.

  • GRA drags two entities before CID for probe into alleged breach of tax laws

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has handed over some managers of two facilities to the CID Unit of the Ghana Police Service for an investigation into non-compliance with the country’s tax law.

    The facilities which were swooped on Friday night, September 30, (names withheld) were found not to be issuing the Commissioner-General’s invoice.

    Speaking to the media after the exercise, Area Enforcement Manager of GRA in charge of Accra Central, Joseph Annan presented that the apprehended facilities had violated regulations of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

    He said the exercise or operations were part of an ongoing nationwide VAT Invigilating exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the State.

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has handed over some managers of two facilities to the CID Unit of the Ghana Police Service for an investigation into non-compliance with the country’s tax law.

    The facilities which were swooped on Friday night, September 30, (names withheld) were found not to be issuing the Commissioner-General’s invoice.

    Speaking to the media after the exercise, Area Enforcement Manager of GRA in charge of Accra Central, Joseph Annan presented that the apprehended facilities had violated regulations of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

    He said the exercise or operations were part of an ongoing nationwide VAT Invigilating exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the State.

    Source: Citinews

  • GRA urges public to demand VAT invoice, hands over alleged tax defaulters to Police

    Area Enforcement Manager of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in charge of Accra Central, Mr Joseph Annan, has called on the public to demand the Value Added Tax (VAT) invoice from shop owners when they buy goods.

    The GRA expects that all suppliers of taxable items, goods or services, issue VAT invoice as required by law and in the same vein, the customer is required by law to obtain invoice if such transactions attract VAT.

    He said it was an infringement on the tax laws, if businesses failed to issue the VAT, when they were registered with the Authority.

    Mr Annan made the call during the ongoing tax invigilation exercise being conducted at the Authority in Accra.

    He said they have clearly violated regulations of VAT.

    On Monday, the team visited Chang Wei Company Limited, dealers of Children‘s Toys and Accessories, Selina Bags Shop, Zebrex Motors Limited, dealers in Engine Oil and Batteries and Black Park.

    Some documents were taken from these shops together with System Units, POS, and a laptop computer.

    He said the exercise or operations were part of an ongoing nationwide VAT Invigilation exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the State.

    The Enforcement Officer said all these shops visited failed to issue the VAT invoice, when the team tested them, hence they were arrested and handed over to the Police for investigation and possible prosecution.

    He told the Ghana News Agency that the Authority had a legal Unit that handled prosecution and once the investigations were done, the case would be handed over to the unit to proceed to court.

    He said these individuals would be assessed and made to pay immediately when that was done and after that “we will commence a full audit on the companies.”

    Mr Annan said if one’s VAT was being under declared, other taxes would also suffer the same.

    Of the seven people arrested, Mr Annan said the Police were still investigating and some progress had been made so far, “we are finalizing two of the cases, which will be completed for possible prosecution.”

    He said the exercise would continue until some sanity prevailed or was restored in the system.

    Mr Annan said the GRA as part of the nationwide invigilation would continue to embark on mystery shopping exercises across the country to apprehend culprits evading tax.

    Source: GNA

  • GRA hands over some alleged tax defaulters to the Police

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has handed over some managers of three facilities to the CID Unit of the Ghana Police Station for investigation into non-compliance of the country’s tax law.

    The facilities are Champion Dishes, a Restaurant at Adabraka, Grace Has Found Us and Celeb’s all at Dansoman were found not to be issuing the Commissioner-General’s invoice.

    Mr Joseph Annan, Area Enforcement Manager of GRA in charge of Accra Central, told the Ghana News Agency that they had violated regulations of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

    He said the exercise or operations were part of an ongoing nationwide VAT Invigilation

    exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the State.

    He said the Police would  do their investigations, but for them as tax administrators, “we will assess their books and then apply all the penalties and interest that are applicable.”

    He said it was an offence not to issue the VAT invoice and the law would take its own course.

    Mr Annan said the GRA as part of a nationwide invigilation would continue to embark on mystery  shopping exercises across the country to apprehend culprits evading tax.

    “We will continue this exercise until our taxpayers do the needful,” he added.

    He said the Authority in their auditing process would conduct a preemptive assessment, which meant that they would have to pay immediately, but then they would recommend a full audit to be conducted.

    Mr Annan said even though they  would audit their books the legal aspect would be handled by the CID, where they would prepare their docket for possible prosecution.

    Source: GNA   

  • GRA hands over alleged tax defaulters to police

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has handed over some managers of three facilities to the CID Unit of the Ghana Police Service for an investigation into non-compliance with the country’s tax law.

    The facilities are Champion Dishes, a Restaurant at Adabraka, Grace Has Found Us and Celeb’s all at Dansoman were found not to be issuing the Commissioner-General’s invoice.

    Mr Joseph Annan, Area Enforcement Manager of GRA in charge of Accra Central, told the Ghana News Agency that they had violated regulations of the Value Added Tax (VAT).

    He said the exercise or operations were part of an ongoing nationwide VAT Invigilation exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the State.

    He said the Police would do their investigations, but for them as tax administrators, “we will assess their books and then apply all the penalties and interest that are applicable.”

    He said it was an offence not to issue the VAT invoice and the law would take its own course.

    Mr Annan said the GRA as part of a nationwide invigilation would continue to embark on mystery shopping exercises across the country to apprehend culprits evading tax.

    “We will continue this exercise until our taxpayers do the needful,” he added.

    He said the Authority in their auditing process would conduct a pre-emptive assessment, which meant that they would have to pay immediately, but then they would recommend a full audit to be conducted.

    Mr Annan said even though they would audit their books, the legal aspect would be handled by the CID, where they would prepare their docket for possible prosecution.

  • GRA to descend on more tax-evading businesses

    The Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA) has stated that it intends to crack down even harder on companies that are refusing to pay taxes.

    A posh event and trading center called “De Icon” in East Legon, Accra, had its facilities locked up by authority representatives on Friday, September 16, 2022, for not paying their taxes to the government.

    The goal of the GRA’s intervention is to make sure that all tax payments owed to the state are obtained from culpable companies.

    The team locked up the facility to restrain the owners and customers from doing business until the tax registration process is concluded.

    GRA to descend on more tax-evading businesses

    Chief Revenue Officer at the office of the Commissioner General, Nathaniel Tetteh told Journalists that the company will be made to comply with the law and pay penalties before it can resume operations.

    “We have information that this facility has been operating since December 2021 without the necessary tax requirements. So our assignment here is to lock the place until the right thing is done”.

    “We also need some tax documents from the administration, so we can use it to track the business they have done and apply the charges” he told Joy Business.

    Friday September 16, 2022 operations was part of an ongoing nationwide Valued Added Tax Invigilation exercise by the authority to retrieve some taxes due the state.

    GRA to descend on more tax-evading businesses

    The GRA as part of the nationwide invigilation will continue to embark on mystery shopping exercises across the country to apprehend culprits evading tax.

    Meanwhile, all efforts to get the managers or the directors of ‘De Icon’ to speak to the media was not successful.

  • Revenue authorities, MoF need to work on revenue losses from AfCFTA

    According to Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Commissioner-General of GRA, Revenue authorities will need to engage with Ministries of Finance to make up for the revenue losses anticipated as a result of the reduction in import taxes during the implementation of the AfCFTA.

    The AfCFTA parties will be required to lower tariffs on “90% of items that are traded inside the continent,” which may cause a short-term loss in tariff revenue to the majority of African member countries whose trade levies still serve as an important source of income.

    According to him, the AfCFTA’s implementation would necessitate the use of technical expertise, improved procedures, and technology in collaboration with the relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Trade, Customs authorities, tax authorities, and other law enforcement agencies engaged in the detection of various financial and customs-related crimes.

    Dr. Owusu Amoah spoke on the subject of “Tax and Revenue Implication of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement” at the beginning of the three-day African Tax Administration Forum and African Tax Research Network 7th Annual Congress.

    He said as African Countries began trading under AfCFTA, they must recognize the critical role of tax and customs authorities and enhance their capacity and skills to operationalize the tariff concessions, administer the rules of origin and ensure that non-AfCFTA originating goods exploit the preferential treatment vis-à-vis the overlapping rules of the regional economic communities.

    Mr Owusu Amoah called for stronger regional cooperation between tax authorities now more than ever.

    “Tax and customs authorities play a key role in the collection of information including beneficial ownership information and financial information, as well as the use of tax identifiers that link individuals to the companies in which they are shareholders.

    “As border control, customs authorities are key in detecting and preventing smuggling, counterfeit goods, and overall illicit trade, but in a future single market, one national authority cannot effectively execute this duty on its own.”

    He said cooperation between tax authorities, in particular, would be extremely important in preventing tax evasion and avoidance schemes.

    He said ATAF, the AfCFTA Secretariat, and the AU must establish deeper engagement to protect the future revenues of our anticipated union.

    He highlighted information sharing and the use of technology, emphasizing the reshaping of the legal frameworks to enable the sharing of tax information between competent authorities.

    This could have multiple advantages including, preventing the duplication of efforts, detection of fraud, tax evasion, or avoidance schemes that make use of multiple jurisdictions, and identifying and tracking the movement of goods.

    “Today is an opportunity to begin this engagement between key authorities to map the road towards an operational customs union,” he said.

    In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, said regarding the tax and revenue implications of the AfCFTA, it was likely that customs revenue would not see an upward movement in the short-term.

    However, this impact would be marginal compared to the share of intra-African exports as a percentage of total African exports, which is estimated at around 21 percent in 2021.

    “In the medium term, AfCFTA is expected to improve trade, and therefore, would impact positively on GDP,” he said.

    According to the World Bank, real income gains from the full implementation of the agreement would increase by 7 percent or nearly US$450 billion.

    This would increase the domestic income levels of individuals and corporate entities and consequently increase both direct and indirect domestic taxes.

    He said to boost customs revenue mobilization in the short-term, African countries could resort to other revenue-enhancing measures that target domestic taxes.

    Mr Logan Wort, Executive Secretary ATAF, said the benefits of AfCFTA were expected to boost industrialization, and economic diversification and ensure sustainable, employment-generating growth for the whole of Africa.

    However, this may result in short-term tariff revenue loss to most African member countries where trade taxes remain a key source of revenue.

    “Therefore, since tariff revenues are currently a vital revenue source for many African countries, we must critically strategize on innovative ways to bridge these revenue gaps,” he added.

  • Make prompt payment of royalties to mining communities – Chamber of Mines CEO

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Koney, has called on the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and other relevant institutions to ensure that royalties and other funds meant for the direct benefit and development of mining communities are paid on a regular basis into the Minerals Development Fund (MDF).

    Describing the situation where the release of the funds delay as “not healthy”, he noted that his checks revealed that for the whole of this year, funds had not been paid into the MDF, as required.

    He stressed that the GRA, the Ministry of Finance and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) office should make sure that the funds were immediately released to the MDF for the accelerated development of the beneficiary communities.

    “After close of work or business, it is expected that funds will be paid into the MDF immediately or the next day, but, unfortunately, it is not happening and it is a major issue which calls for concern, especially for those of us who have the mining communities at heart and advocated the establishment of the MDF,” Mr Koney said.

    He made the call at a development partnership symposium in Accra yesterday.

    Socio-economic development plan

    The symposium was aimed at exploring partnership opportunities for implementing the 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) of the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine.

    A wide range of stakeholders, including bilateral agencies, the private sector, foundations and development non-governmental organisations, attended the event.

    The MDF, the Act

    Explaining the purpose for the establishment of the MDF, Mr Koney said it was a public fund set up by Act 912 of Parliament in 2016.

    The source of the fund is principally 20 per cent of mineral royalties that are received by the GRA on behalf of the Republic.

    These are gained from holders of mining leases in respect of their mining operations. Parliament may also release money approved by Parliament for the fund.

    Other sources of the fund are grants, donations, gifts and voluntary contributions. The MDF may also be financed by money that may become lawfully payable to the fund.

    The act also permits MDF money to be accrued from investments made by the board.

    Also, the fund is to provide financial resources for the direct benefit and advantage of mining communities and all mining-associated individuals and entities interested in land within a mining community.

    It is also to equip traditional and local government authorities, such as the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) within a mining community, to carry out their mandates.

    It is anticipated that the MDF will generally promote sustainable mining in various areas through the implementation of the Mineral Development Scheme (MDS).

    Benefits of fund

    Mr Koney pointed out that the MDS, when effectively implemented, would, among other things, help address the harmful effects of mining on affected communities and persons.

    It would also enable local economic development projects and alternative livelihood projects in communities affected by mining activities, he said.

    Challenge

    Mr Koney emphasised that the funds needed to be released in “a timely manner” to complement what the various mining companies were doing as part of their respective corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

    “The various MMDAs cannot speak for themselves, for various reasons, but they are starved of the needed funds to execute their mandate,” he indicated.

    Migration, timelines

    The Chamber of Mines CEO further observed that due to the lack of resources, it would be difficult to execute projects on schedule, resulting in the escalation in project costs.

    “We have been complaining about the poor state of mining communities; it is, therefore, important to implement and operationalise the MDF to ensure that the funds are ploughed back into the mining communities,” he said.

    He intimated that when the required resources were channelled into the development of mining communities, it would ensure that rural-urban migration would be curbed.

    Development plan

    The Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti Ghana Limited, Eric Asubonteng, said the mining firm developed the 10-year SEDP as a social investment strategy to contribute to resilient and socio-economically self-sustaining communities.

    It, therefore, prioritised the mine’s host communities and the traditional capitals of paramount and divisional stools to which the host communities belonged, he said.

    He said the long-term SEDP was developed after the Social Management Plan ended in 2021.

    Presentations

    The Planning officers of the Obuasi Municipal and the Obuasi East District assemblies, Joseph Bashir Asibi and Jones Agyemang, respectively, made presentations on the socio-political context of Obuasi.

    The Senior Manager of Sustainability of the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine, Emmanuel Baidoo, also gave an overview of the SEDP plan and what was expected from other partners to help sustain the development of mining communities.

     

    Source: Graphiconline

  • Massive shake up to hit GRA

    A report has disclosed that a reshuffle is will soon hit the top hierarchy of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

    According to the Asaaseradio.com report, Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), who has been cited in the Labianca case according to a Special Prosecutor report, is likely to be affected by this shake-up.

    Also, Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, the current Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, is also likely not to have his contract renewed.

    These two have attained statutory retirement age.

    The reason given by Asaase for the shake is that the “presidency has been markedly reluctant in this second term to renew contracts of appointees who have attained their retirement age.”

    Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd.), the Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), took a swipe at the Special Prosecutor after investigations implicated his office in corruption-related acts involving Labianca Company Limited.

    Describing the report as ‘hollow’ and one that does not contain any substance while speaking at a Customs Division Management Retreat in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, the Commissioner of the Customs explained that the basis for the OSP’s investigative report was because he did not allow one Mr. Akrugu to be seconded to the SP’s office.

    He stated that any attempts by the Special Prosecutor to bring him down would not work because the Almighty God is on his side.

    “Three days ago, a report purported to be coming from the Office of the Special Prosecutor trying to indict the Deputy Commissioner of Operations and myself [but] anybody who has read that report very well will know the basis of that,” he said while addressing some Senior Customs officers at the retreat.

    “And luckily for Me, God is always on my side; before that report came, that person had made a comment to some people who had come to tell me [that] he [Special Prosecutor] was going to publish (a report) that will discredit me…

    “I even sent people to go and tell him that he is a small boy and I am older than him, I have lived a meaningful life, and if he attempts to destroy me, it won’t be easy for him. People have tried, and I have survived, and this one too, I will survive it,” he said.

     

  • E-levy does not apply to merchant SIMs, cash-outs, and cash-ins GRA

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has debunked misleading reports on social media that imply that from 1st July 2022, the GRA will begin charging E-Levy on merchant SIMs.

    The misleading reports also suggest that Cash-Ins or deposits made through a merchant or vendor will attract E-Levy.

    The GRA in a press statement stressed that “the Levy does not apply to Specified Merchant Payments. It added that Specified Merchant Payments are payments made to merchants through a payment service to a person registered with the GRA for the purposes of Income Tax or Value Added Tax (VAT). Customers making payments to such specified merchants will NOT be charged the E-Levy”.

    According to the GRA, the E-Levy does not apply to Cash-Outs or cash withdrawals and Cash-Ins or cash deposits either at the bank or at a mobile money agent or vendor point.

    The GRA in a statement explained that that Cash-Ins or deposits do not attract E-Levy hence customers are NOT to pay any amount as E-Levy.

    “The general public should note that E-Levy is NOT charged on merchant SIMs, as is being purported. The E-Levy is only charged on a transfer from a customer to a Specified Merchant if the merchant is NOT registered with GRA for Income Tax or VAT purposes,” a statement said.

    Source:myjoyonline.com

  • E-Levy implementation has been very smooth GRA

    It has been 30 days since the implementation of E-Levy. The Ghana Revenue Authority noted that measures that were employed by the Authority led to a smooth implementation.

    Even though the Authority said the implementation was smooth, there have been complaints of wrongful deductions by users.

    In this light, the Head of Communication and Public Affairs at the GRA, Florence Asante is urging users with complaints to call the Authority to have them addressed.

    “From the side of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy has generally been very smooth. We commenced implementation on Sunday, May 1. We had a lot of collaboration with our charging entities, and they are the banks, electronic money issuers, payment service providers, and specialized deposit-taking institutions.”

    “So, we went into collaborations with all these institutions and businesses, and together with them, we planned on how we were going to implement the levy, and that accounted for the smooth introduction of the levy.”

    Mrs. Asante also stated that the charging entities are being engaged to enhance the efficiency of platforms being used for the collection of the levy.

    The E-Levy was implemented on May 1. It is a 1.5% levy on all electronic transfers after GH¢100.

    The implementation was however characterized by complaints from users as they claimed wrongful deductions were been made.

    The Authority stated that it had begun reimbursement of these deductions.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • GRA has not paid US$40m for a system to implement E-Levy Commissioner-General

    Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority(GRA), Rev Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has denied allegations that the authority has contracted the services of a third party to monitor the collection of the E-Levy.

    He said that the GRA has not signed a contract with any entity worth US$40.

    He added that the authority will not engage in activities that are contrary to the Electronic Transfer E-Levy (E-Levy) Act.

    “Clause 6.2 of the E-Levy Act does state that the Commissioner-General shall not for the purpose of this act engage a 3rd party service provider for a fee or a commission for the purpose of ensuring revenue monitoring and revenue assurance.

    “As far as GRA is concerned we will always want to ensure that we are obeying the law … So, I want to assure that as much as the law describes and prescribes this, we will be compliant with the law and we want to assure Ghanaians that we will abide by the law.

    “We have not signed any contract with anybody to pay $40 million as I have heard in some platforms for such purpose and therefore it is inaccurate for anybody to say that we have signed a contract to pay $40 million,” he said in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb.

    He also explained that the E-Levy law does not prohibit the authority from engaging people to come up with a system to collect the levy and that the authority will use one of the systems it has acquired for the implementation of the levy.

    “… as an entity (GRA), we have in house software developers, we have other third-party organisations that work with us … as so whatever we do it in the name of GRA,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George, has questioned the rationale behind the alleged plans of the government to purchase a system worth US$ 40 million for the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy).

    In a tweet shared on April 21, 2022, Sam George said that there is no need to purchase the system because the government has a system at the National Communication Authority (NCA) which can perform the same function.

    According to the Member of Parliament (MP), the system will be bought from ExpressPay and will be to the benefit of some officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority and the finance ministry.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • We are ready to implement E-Levy on May 1st – GRA Commissioner insists

    Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has insisted that the authority has put all the necessary measures in place to ensure that the implementation of the E-Levy starts on May 1, 2022, contrary to assertions in the media.

    In a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Dr. Owusu-Amoah said that all the technologies needed to ensure the successful implementation of the E-Levy (Electrotonic Transfer Levy) have been acquired.

    He added that the only thing left to do is for the Mobile Money Issuers (MMIs) and the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) which includes Telecommunication Companies (Telcos) and Banks to integrate into the system.

    “… this system is already available and the then application programme interface which is the APIs have also been made available. We have had several engagements with the various stakeholders in terms of what we call the charging entities (The EMIs, the banks, the Telcos) who will be charging the money and transferring the money to the consolidated fund through the Ghana.gov platform. And so, what the entities will have to do is to ensure that they have taken the necessary protocols and will be able to interface with the system.

    “The system is available, the API is available, an end-to-end test has been done successfully with a number of transactions that have gone through successfully without any failure. So we are confident that it beholds on the charging entities to do the integration,” he said.

    The Commissioner-General explained that the system for the implementation of the levy is a common platform and it has been designed to identify transactions that need to be charged.

    “Currently, the team has been camped in a particular location where anybody who has a challenge as far as the integration done is also working with them,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George, has indicated that the government is not ready to implement the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) by the May 1, 2022 deadline.

    The MP added that “the architecture for the system is still not complete and has not been given to the industry players (MNOS and EMIS) less than ten days to start of [the] project. No stress test has been carried out on the intended system to ascertain (the) robustness of the infrastructure to be used.”

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Workers who receive salary of ¢365 and below wont be taxed GRA

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stated that employees who earn GH¢365 and below as monthly salary or GH¢4,380 as annual salary will not be taxed.

    The Authority in a tweet explained that the decision is pursuant to Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021. (Act 1071).

    The GRA said the Act is “to amend the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) to review the rates of income tax for individuals; to reduce the withholding tax rate for sale of unprocessed gold by small scale miners; to increase the threshold for an individual to whom the presumptive tax under the Modified Taxation Scheme applies; to extend the Covid-19 concessions granted in 2021 for further six months in 2022 and to provide for related matters.”

    The Act was assented to by the President on December 30, 2021, after it was passed by Parliament.

    In June last year, the National Tripartite Committee announced that the National Minimum Daily Wage will be revised to GH¢13.53 effective January 1, 2022. 

    Below is the Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2021. (Act 1071).

    Source: MyJoyOnline.com

  • Coronavirus: GRA donates PPEs to 160 selected schools

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Wednesday donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to 160 selected schools to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The items are 640 handwashing units, 480 gallons of liquid soap, and 320 packs of tissue.

    Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, the Deputy Minister of Education, received the items and presented them to Professor Kwasi Opoku- Amankwa, the Director-General of Ghana Education Service, for onward distribution to the schools.

    Reverend Ammishaddai Owusu- Amoah, the Commissioner-General, GRA said the gesture was part of the Authority’s corporate social responsibility to respond to the needs of the students in protecting them from the New Delta Variant of the pandemic.

    He said the Authority, over the years, had supported schools in diverse ways to improve teaching and learning to help in the development of the country.

    The Commissioner-General said even though the Authority aimed to collect revenue for the country’s development, it was necessary to respond to societal needs for national growth.

    He said the gesture would endure, adding that the Authority would continue to partner with the Ministry of Education to support underserved schools in the country.

    Rev Owusu-Amoah advised the students to take their lessons seriously and observe the COVID-19 health protocols to protect themselves from the virus.

    Rev Fordjour commended the Authority for the gesture and appealed to other corporate organisations to support in curbing the virus.

    He said since the outbreak of the pandemic, the government had made huge investments through the purchase of vaccines and provision of PPEs to protect the lives of the citizenry.

    The gesture, the Minister, said would imbue in the students the civic duty of paying tax and remaining law-abiding for the development of the country.

    He said the government would soon deploy the COVID-19 Tracker to monitor and track cases of the virus for the prompt response and called for stakeholder’s support for the initiative to be successful.

    Source: GNA

  • GRA to establish Tax Court to determine tax evasion cases

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has planned to establish a tax court to deal with tax evasion prosecution cases as part of its intensive debt collection drive and prosecution of defaulters.

    Rev Ammishadai Owusu-Amoah, Commissioner-General of GRA, who announced this at the opening session of a 3-day management retreat in the Eastern Regional capital, Koforidua, on Thursday, said plans for setting up the Court were far advanced.

    He said the prosecution of tax cases would go on alongside intensive public education on payment of taxes, adding: “We are of the view that education must transform into compliance and if that is not done, the necessary measures including prosecution cannot be overlooked”.

    The GRA management retreat was on the theme, “Digitisation and Compliance for Effective Revenue Mobilization.”

    Rev Owusu-Amoah said the next phase of the digitisation system deployed in 2020 would be pursued vigorously to make tax payment very convenient, adding, by the end of 2021 GRA would move to a cashless system.

    The system, he said, is expected to make payment of taxes at all GRA offices cease while by May this year all tax payments are done online and all cashiers redeployed by July.

    Despite COVID-19 negative impacts on the global economy, he said GRA was able to exceed its revenue target of 42,769.50 billion Ghana cedis for 2020 and commended the staff for their commitment and professionalism.

    He said by December 2020, his outfit had collected 45,338.69 billion exceeding its target by 2,569.19 billion with a positive deviation of 6.0 per cent, representing a nominal growth rate of 3.3 per cent over 2019 performance.

    This year, GRA has challenged itself to collect 60 billion Ghana cedis, a 32 per cent increase over last year’s target.

    Rev Owusu-Amoah said a new division with specific objectives to achieve a tax-to-GDP ratio of 17.5 per cent by 2022 had been set up.

    Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, in a speech read on his behalf, described the feat chalked by GRA as no mean achievement, though 2020 was not a normal year.

    He said digitizing the tax collection system was key to achieving revenue sector objectives and entreated the staff of GRA to work with high professional standards.

    Daasebre Oti Boateng, Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area, called on GRA to collaborate with root-based institutions to improve payment of taxes by the informal sector.

    He noted that educating people in the informal sector to appreciate the need to pay taxes was key in any strategy to widen the tax net and urged GRA to invest in ways that deepen tax education.

    The 3-day retreat is being attended by GRA commissioners and sector commanders countrywide to review its performance last year and strategise for 2022.

    Source: GNA

  • GRA exceeded 2020 revised target Commissioner General

    The Acting Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority Rev. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah has revealed the Ghana Revenue Authority exceeded its revised revenue target of GHc42,769.50 billion for the year 2020.

    According to him, the authority was initially budgeted to collect tax revenue of GH¢47,253.95 billion for the 2020 fiscal year.

    This represented a 7.6% growth over the actual tax revenue collections of GH¢43,907.12 billion for the 2019 fiscal year.

    However, as a result of the impact of the Covid-19 global pandemic, the budget was revised to GH¢42,769.50 billion.

    This represents 2.6% negative growth over the actual revenue collection of GH¢43,907.12 billion for 2019.

    However, speaking to the media at a press soiree, the acting commissioner with excitement announced that despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative impact on businesses, the GRA was able to meet its 2020 revised revenue target.

    The Authority was tasked to collect a revised tax revenue target of
    GH¢42,769.50; as of December 2020, we had collected GH¢45,338.69 million exceeding the budget by GH¢2,569.19 million thus, with a positive deviation of 6.0%.

    He added, though the GRA is yet to know from the finance ministry its revenue target for the year 2021, “it has set for itself an aggressive target to collect a provisional tax revenue of GH¢60 billion. This constitutes a 32.3% increase over the 2020 actual collection.”

    He further stated, the Introduction of New Excise Tax Stamps, TIN/Ghana Card Replacement, E-Commerce, Restructuring of Domestic Tax Revenue Division, Deployment of Information Technology Tools, Tax Education among others are all part of the strategies to ensure the commission realizes its 2021 target.

    He advised members of the public to be tax compliant “…so that together we can mobilize the needed revenue for national development and to get to the position whereas a country, we can be totally self-reliant and help to achieve the objectives of “Ghana Beyond Aid.”

    Source: rainbowradioonline.com

  • Customs Division of GRA designated to issue rules of origin certificates

    Government has designated the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) as the Competent Authority for the issuance of Rules of Origin Certificate under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

    Rules of origin are a “passport” enabling goods to circulate duty-free within a free trade area (FTA) as long as these goods qualify as originating within the FTA.

    This mandates the Customs Division to assess the criteria that must be met for a product to be considered as having its origin in an exporting country within the FTA and qualify for preferential treatment (zero import tariffs) inside the FTA.

    Mr Alan John Kojo Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, speaking at the Business Forum on the Start of AfCFTA in Ghana: Implementation Arrangements said: “We are also aware that the contribution of the government alone could not guarantee the success of the AfCFTA.”

    The event was organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with the GRA and attended by Mr Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, AfCFTA Secretariat, and other Senior Government Officials.

    It is a free trade area founded in 2018, with trade commencing as of January 1, 2021.

    The free-trade area is the largest in the world in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization.

    Accra, Ghana serves as the Secretariat of AfCFTA and was commissioned and handed over to the African Union (AU) by President Nana Akufo-Addo on August 17, 2020, in Accra.

    The agreement was brokered by the AU and was signed by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018.

    The agreement initially requires members to remove 90 per cent tariffs from goods, allowing free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent.

    He expressed the hope that government could work actively with business associations to enable the private sector to respond to all the interventions put in place.

    He said in Ghana “our focus should be, how we ensure micro small medium enterprises can also take advantage of the programme.”
    He said the Ministry was confident that with such strong collaboration between government and the private sector, Ghana was ready to take up the challenge of Africa.

    Mr Kwaku Nsiah Mensuoh, Chief Operation Manager, Trade Africa Online, speaking on “Opportunities for AfCFTA Trading for SMEs in Ghana using e-Commerce” said there were three factors that could contribute significantly to increased trade on the continent.

    These are market information, connecting buyers to sellers and logistics and distribution management.

    He said while it was possible to address all three factors through physical activities, it was generally acknowledged that e-commerce provided a more effective cost-efficient way of addressing the above factors.

    “This explains why e-commerce is gradually taking over from physical commerce,” he said.

    He said it was against this background that e-commerce has a critical role to play in enhancing intra-African trade.

    Source: GNA

  • GRA denies misleading reports about 45% shortfall in revenue target

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has said media reports that the Tema Collection of the Customs Division has failed to meet its revenue target by 45% are false and misleading.

    According to the GRA, the malicious reports sought to blame the deployment of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) at the Tema port for the revenue shortfall.

    “The Customs Division on the average collects GH¢942 million monthly. The average three months run rate for Tema collection for 2020 is GH¢574.8 million. This figure compares with the June performance of the Tema Collection of GH¢554 million and does not show any significant difference in collection,” the GRA explained in a statement.

    The Republic Online reported five days ago that poor revenue figures at the Tema Collection point of the GRA were being kept under wraps because government was bent on painting a good picture of the ICUMS.

    The online portal reported that “in plain figures, the total revenue raised at the Tema Ports for June 2020 summed up to only GH¢553,566,898.06 when the revenue target was GH¢1,006,880,000.00.”

    But the GRA in the statement denied the claims as without merit and scandalous.

    Read the full explanation from the GRA below.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Were not recruiting GRA debunks social media reports

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says it is not recruiting persons to join its Customs Division.

    There are reports on social media to the effect that the Authority was enlisting people.

    In a statement, GRA said such reports are false and should be disregarded.

    “The attention of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been drawn to recent reports making rounds, especially on social media that the Authority is recruiting persons to join the Customs Division of the GRA.”

    “We wish to inform the general public that, this information is false and therefore should be disregarded. GRA does not recruit persons via forms circulated on social media and we do not request for payment of any kind for recruitment.”

    The Authority further urged the general public not to engage such persons claiming to be recruiting on its behalf.

    “The general public is therefore advised not to engage with any person or group of persons claiming to be recruiting on behalf of GRA. Those who deal with such individuals, do so at their own risk.”

    Below is the full press statement from GRA

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Execute responsibilities devoid of partisan politics – CEPS Officers told

    The Commissioner of the Customs Exercise and Preventive Services (CEPS) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Col. Kwadzwo Damoah (Rtd), has asked CEPS officers to undertake their mandates devoid of partisan politics since their services do not align with politics.

    According to him, as security and revenue collectors, they must remain loyal to the nation-building, work, and ensure a safe environment to encourage peaceful coexistence with neighbouring countries, to harness normal economic and social life.

    Addressing the media after he met with both Junior and Senior staff during his working visit to Aflao Sector on Thursday, 3 July 2020, Mr. Kwadwo said, although they (officers) belong to political parties and will practice their rights by voting for one political party and the other, their political colours shouldn’t reflect in their line of duties, especially during this season of political campaigns and activities.

    ” Why I’m appealing to the officers is that, yes, we admit that come December 7, all of us we are going to vote and actually we are likely to vote for parties of our choices and that is democracy nobody can prevent anybody from voting but that is distinct from our official duties. Officially, we are supposed to perform a certain mandate and that is why I’m appealing to them that, they should focus on that official mandate, remain loyal to the state and should not in any way allow political differences to affect the way we go our duties,” He said.

    Speaking on revenue generation, the Commissioner said, the novel COVID-19 has affected revenue generation since February 2020, He revealed that, ” Naturally, the volume coming which already was reducing is going to reduce further, so we have done some analysis and it’s shown in a direction that, our revenue is going down. In the case of Customs, in January, we recorded more than 1 billion and in February we fell below 1 billion and in March it fell further than 1 billion and in April when the real effect of the COVID is in, it still went further than before, so on that angle, we are able to say that COVID-19 is indeed hitting us hard in terms of revenue because of the volumes of imports that are coming now,” He told the media.

    He, however, charged the personnel to work harder to get more revenue for the country and so they will be able to pay salaries and among other important expenditures without financial difficulties, ” if you (the officers) increase the revenue, then all things being equal, your chances of being able to have some left after your payment of salaries and allowances will be higher and therefore we will be able to provide other essential by way of logistics and operations” he advised.

    On rewards, the Commissioner applauded the Aflao sector for the recent intercepted 42 kilograms of substances suspected to be cocaine, heroin and tramadol on Friday 5, June 2020.

    Although there has been an allegation of some amount of the items been missing, Mr. Kwadwo said there is a need for him to reward officers involved in arresting the substances, adding that investigation has been launched into the missing substances.

    “We thought that we should commend them for what they had achieved while not glossing over this one, efforts have been made to try to find the whereabouts of this things ” He mentioned.

    The Commissioner with his entourage visited the various pillars, checkpoints and entry points on the Lome, Aflao border. He therefore advised the personnel to adhere to the various COVID-19 protocols and help educate the citizenry on the pandemic.

     

    Source: Albert Kuzor, Contributor

  • GRA launches probe into missing Kpoglu border cocaine

    The Ghana Revenue Authority has launched a probe to unravel the circumstances leading to the disappearance of some substances suspected to be cocaine.

    The substance with a street value of US$3,000 was intercepted at the Kpoglu Border Post in the Ketu South Municipality on June 5.

    Between the confiscation and transportation of the suspected drug to the offices of the appropriate authorities for testing and further investigations however, a percentage of the powdery substance got missing.

    In a statement signed by the Assistant Commissioner at its Communication and Public Affairs Directorate, the Ghana Revenue Authority explained that the operations leading to the interception of the substance were transparent, inclusive, and was “carried out with the utmost integrity on the part of the Customs Division.”

    The statement added that “when concluded, the outcome of the investigations and the findings will be of the Police Forensic Laboratory will be made public.”

    Meanwhile, the two institutions at the centre of the saga — the Narcotics Control Commission and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) are accusing each other of the issue at hand.

    Source: abcnewsgh.com

  • GRA beefs up Customs staff at ports to clear backlogs

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has directed its Customs Division at the port to resume normal operations, as their shift system which was put in place due to measures to check the spread of COVID-19 has been cancelled.

    The move is part of urgent steps being taken by the GRA to ensure that the backlog of uncleared goods at the port due to challenges faced with the newly introduced Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) managed by UNIPASS is handled quickly.

    The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), has over the past week lamented the inability of its members to carry out their operation at the port due to system challenges, leading to the lock up of goods. They fear that, as a result of no fault of theirs, they may have to pay demurrage and rent charges.

    The GIFF at a press conference last week, raised issues ranging from system inaccessibility, importer Tax Identification Number (TIN), delivery time benchmark, manual processing, security, system calculator, call center, information management, training and frontier challenges.

    But the Project Manager of ICUMS, Assistant Commissioner of Custom Emmanuel Ohene described their concerns as over rated as the system was functioning even though not at its full capacity.

    This necessitated a meeting last week at the Tema Port with the Commissioner General Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, UNIPASS Team Customs and others where a communique from the meeting cited by the B&FT stated that due to the observation of COVID -19 protocols, Custom officials were reporting to work in batches.

    The Commissioner General has therefore recalled all staffs to report to work with immediate effect and have been drafted into a morning and evening schedule; the morning shift will work till 5pm and the evening shift will then take over and close the following morning. This is expected to continue until all the backlogs have been cleared.

    Also, the valuation and the classification of goods from the frontiers or the boarders was considered at the meeting with a decision that, henceforth, the classifications will be performed by the officers at the frontiers.

    “The meeting resolved that, with immediate effect, a temporary approval has been given to customs to continue with their classifications, whiles pharmaceutical companies will continue processing their documentation and proceed with payments to enable them to obtain the various license and certificates instead of waiting for an assessment to be done on their documents. This is expected to will reduce the delay at the technical service bureau and payment of illegal fees,” the Commissioner General added.

    A stakeholders meeting has been scheduled to ensure the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Standards Authority, Customs and others put across a pragmatic way to circumvent the ICUMS challenges but still keep revenues intact. The GRA is confident that, with ICUMS by the end of the year, clearing cargo from date of its discharge to its release at the sea ports would take 48 hours, while a lesser time would be required for air and land frontier operations.

    ICUMS, is a fully integrated port community, single and e-clearance system which currently has registered all Shipping Line/Agents, Terminal Operators, Container Freight Stations, Licensed Customs House Agents, Freight Forwarders, Bonded Warehouses/Free Zones Operators and other port community players.

    Source: B&FT Online