Rev Ammishaddai Owusu Ansah – GRA Boss
THE AUDITOR-General (A-G) says tax revenue totalling GH¢1,452,206.56 collected between January and June 2021 by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at its Batume Junction Station in Ho remains unaccounted for.
In its latest report on Ministries, Departments and other Agencies (MDAs) for the year ended 31 December 2021, the A-G, disclosed that one Emmanuel Antwi-Agyei of the Customs Division collected the money.
“We noted from our review of the records of Batume Junction Station that tax revenue totalling GH¢1,452,206.56, collected between January and June 2021 by Emmanuel Antwi-Agyei had not been accounted for,” the report stressed.
It stated that Regulation 50 of the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378) “states that all public monies collected shall be paid in gross into the Public Funds Accounts and a disbursement shall not be made from the monies collected except as provided by an enactment.”
“We also noted that an investigation was carried out by management and the Accounts Officer was transferred to the Ho Tax office,” the report revealed.
The A-G said he had recommended that the Sector Commander should immediately recover the GH¢1,452,206.56 from Emmanuel Antwi-Agyei and be sanctioned, failing which the Sector Commander and Regional Accountant should be held liable.
Accra GRA
The report indicated that the A-G’s review of 13,721 selected tax files from 21 Domestic Tax Revenue Offices in the Greater Accra Region showed outstanding income taxes of GH¢111,652,263.00 involving 6,856 companies, business entities and individuals owed to the State.
It explained that the amount represents corporate and individual income taxes for 2019, 2020 and 2021 years of assessment.
According to the report, at LTO, out of 594 files examined, 26 of them were found with outstanding of GH¢1,888,782.86, while 84 files at Kinbu LTO Annex out of 329 files examined were with outstanding of GH¢1,585,651.81.
The report mentioned Kaneshie TSC (GH¢4,317,178.10), Osu TSC 1 (GH¢766,415.71), Agbogbloshie TSC (GH¢1,503,946.78), Madina TSC (GH¢6,234,090.46), Legon TSC (GH¢3,984,409.25), Circle TSC (GH¢338,545.73), Mataheko TSC (GH¢1,986,525.97), and Makola TSC (GH¢ 5,838,296.55).
The rest are Weija TSC (GH¢2,238,409.33), Nima TSC (GH¢12,405,989.51), Osu TSC 2 (GH¢24,128,927.28), Achimota TSC (GH¢3,245,242.07), Ashaiman TSC (GH¢1,570,473.76), Tema TSC 2 (GH¢22,417,687.72), Adenta TSC (GH¢1,838,649.61), and Adabraka TSC (GH¢4,230,182.46).
Others are Spintex TSC (GH¢1,868,727.98 20), Teshie – Nungua TSC (GH¢1,203,622.50 21), and Tema TSC (GH¢8,060,507.77).
The A-G quoted Section 71 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915) to point out that a person who fails to pay tax by the date on which the tax is payable is liable to pay interest for each month or part of the month for which any part of the tax is outstanding.
“Additionally, Section 80 of Act 915 mandates the Commissioner General to recover any unpaid tax by pursuing the matter in court,” it added.
Outstanding PAYE
The report said contrary to Sections 114 and 117 of the Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896) to withhold tax from the employment income of their employees, the auditors noted that employers of 2,775 employees and 346 directors did not remit Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) deductions totalling GH¢32,071,515.94 to the Commissioner-General for 2019, 2020 and 2021 years of assessment.
It also indicated that the auditors’ examination of tax files showed that 811 companies, which presented audited accounts for 2019, 2020 and 2021 years of assessment, failed to withhold taxes on goods and services procured amounting to GH¢43,471,511.50.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu