Uphold tax payment as sacred national duty - GRA urges Ghanaians

Upper East Regional Chief Revenue Officer of Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Samuel Owusu, has said payment of taxes for national development is a sacred national duty, therefore, all Ghanaians must uphold with utmost integrity.

He called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to work, cooperate and collaborate with the Customs Division to realise the needed resources for sustainable development by honouring their tax obligations honestly and assisting them with relevant information on tax invaders.

“Our enforcement unit thrives on information to be effective in its operations and let me hasten to say that we would continue to rely greatly on our stakeholders, especially informants and the media for information since they have in the past assisted in this direction,” he stated.

Mr Owusu was speaking at the end of year party and awards ceremony of the Division held in Bolgatanga.

Out of the GH₵19.33 million target set for the region in 2021, the Customs Division collected more than GH₵17.3 million, representing about 90 per cent and exceeding the GH₵12 million collected in 2020.

The Regional Commander announced that the region was allocated a target of GH₵22.96 million for 2022.

“This I must say is huge and daunting because most of the merchandise that use our corridors are zero rated but let us not be intimidated by the sheer size of the target,” he told his Officers.

Mr Owusu said the operations of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) had been strengthened to facilitate trade, including processing and clearing of goods and strategies mapped out to ensure effective patrolling and monitoring.

“One of the strategies to be undertaken is vigorous tax education to change and shape the perception of society to taxation, to see it as a sacred national duty,” he added.

This, he said, would check revenue leakages and increase mobilisation, especially at the porous borders in the region.

A total of 15 officers received awards for sterling performance in contributing to revenue mobilisation in 2021 and were given citations.