Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah
THE GHANA Revenue Authority (GRA) has launched a non-resident e-Commerce and Digital Service Registration Portal, aimed at mobilising about GH¢1.7 billion in revenue from online businesses like Netflix, Jumia, Alibaba, and Amazon among others.
The operation of the portal is expected to commence from April 1, 2022.
The launch of the revenue mobilisation portal comes on the back of complaints from Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, during the presentation of the 2022 budget, of the revenue mobilisation hurdles Ghana has to surmount in its bid to become a country beyond aid.
According to Mr. Ofori-Atta, less than 10 per cent (i.e. about 2.4 million people) out of Ghana’s 30.8 million population pay direct taxes, a situation he said was “a poor reflection” on the country, when compared to other middle-income countries.
Speaking at the launch of the new portal in Accra, GRA’s Commissioner General, Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, said the new initiative will not only help expand the tax net but would increase Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio, while helping the GRA meet its GHC 80.3 tax revenue target.
“Tax payers and their software developers will be engaged and also be provided with the application programming interface (API) between now and the end of the month to ensure they are able to link their system with ours. Effective April 1, 2022, we will ensure that the portal is launched, and we should be able to start applying the VAT from April 1, 2022. And this will cover all institutions, no matter where they are based, and are expected to generate online revenue for Ghana.”
Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah added that the GRA was ready to facilitate the adoption of the new platform by the non-resident companies and entities, but cautioned that those who failed to comply will not be able to repatriate their profits from Ghana.
“In our system, we have built a compliance tool that will ensure that whether it is Google, Amazon or Netflix, you would have to comply. Otherwise your monies will not move from Ghana to your base. To realise the full potential, especially from the non-residential to the digital economy, the portal has been developed to ensure that the non-resident persons engaged in cross-border business will be able to register, file and pay the applicable taxesk, just like their local counterparts,” he added.
– Citibusiness