The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has assured of enhanced use of technology in the implementation of the electronic Value Added Tax (VAT) system this year, as over 5,000 registered VAT entities have been engaged and are ready to go live.
This is part of the ongoing effort to review the entire VAT payment system to capture all VAT-registered taxpayers across the board and provide an improved and upgraded platform.
Acting Commissioner-General of the GRA, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, believes the enhanced system will offer a simplified VAT accounting process for all taxpayers.
The Commissioner-General made these remarks during a virtual engagement with stakeholders.
“The electronic VAT exercise is ongoing, but as you may be aware, we’re conducting a comprehensive review of the entire structure, and the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, is seriously giving it attention. We hope to conclude the work soon and seek parliamentary approval. What I can assure you is that the process is becoming more enhanced, with modern technology playing a key role in ensuring full accountability at the end of the day.
“We have onboarded a number of taxpayers already, and we shall continue after the Minister’s directive to ensure an equitable tax system,” he said.
Currently, over 3,000 taxpayers are onboard and live on the E-VAT system since its introduction in 2022.
According to the GRA, there is an ongoing compliance exercise with the existing taxpayers on board. This will support an assessment of the exercise’s performance as implementation enters its final stage.
By the end of 2024, over 5,000 taxpayers had been engaged nationwide and are ready for onboarding after a series of talks with the GRA.
The onboarding exercise is ongoing despite challenges with taxpayer systems and technicalities in the overall process.
The electronic VAT system is part of the mandated provisions in the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915), empowering the Commissioner-General to ensure an equitable and fair tax administration system.
The E-VAT implementation will help formalise a large number of informal taxpayers, boost domestic tax revenue, improve efficiency in tax administration, and support effective tax audits.