GRA reverses obnoxious, illegal tax policy

Credible information indicates that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has with immediate effect, reversed what has been described as obnoxious and illegal tax policy being implemented along the Volta corridor.

This follows public outcry over the implementation of the said policy.

Journalist and Editor with The New Independent Newspaper, Kofi Adzivor recently, threatened to drag the Ghana Revenue Authority to Court over the said illegal tax policy being implemented.

The policy, introduced in 2019 by the Custom’s Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority was rather making some individual Custom officers along the Eastern Corridor rich instead of the policy raking in more revenue for national development.

The import duty tax was introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority to curb smuggling, bribery and corruption along the Eastern Corridor of the country, specifically the Volta Region.

It’s against the above that the vociferous young Journalist argued that the policy was a move to enrich some greedy officers while putting huge tax liability on the larger populace.

The policy according to him, allows all trucks, cargos and all manner of loading vehicles to pay peanuts for goods they convey into the country through that part of the country.

He revealed that, this has reduced traffic through the Tema and Takoradi ports suggesting that, ” if the policy is reversed and right duties are paid, government would get more money for development” He said.

“These cargo vehicles no matter their sizes and irrespective of their contents, are allowed to pay very small amount of money while duty receipts are issued to cover the goods,” he told us.

What the reversal of the tax policy means is that, right amount of taxes would now be paid on all goods that enter the country through that corridor.