George Blankson, Commissioner-General, GRA
The Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has collected over GH¢10 billion as taxes.
The massive increase in tax mobilization is as a result of the deployment of Total Revenue Integrated Processing System (TRIPS) by GRA.
TRIPS, which was developed by the Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), is a computer software for managing databases for controlling and administering revenue as well as tax payment processing.
In a statement released in Accra, the GRA said the software had optimized tax collection.
It said many companies now use TRIPS to automate the processes for assessing, filing and payment of various domestic tax forms such as Income Tax, PAYE, VAT, Withholding Tax and Gift Tax, among others.
GRA said it would continue to introduce mechanisms to encourage companies to use the software so as to ensure viability of tax system in the country.
The company has also partnered GCNet to introduce competition and awards scheme geared towards enhancing the full migration of all taxpayers onto TRIPS in order to create a uniform platform.
The scheme seeks to award GH¢25,000 every quarter to the winning implementing tax office.
“This is expected to encourage offices to accelerate the migration process, amidst the realization that the introduction of the software has marked a major milestone in the history of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of GRA,” it said.
Alwin Hoegerle, the General Manager of the GCNet, said the partnership with (DTRD) of the GRA was in line with the core mandate of the organization to improve revenue mobilisation through the deployment of efficient ICT enabled systems to significantly contribute to national development.
The organization is not only committed to building capacity and providing logistics support but also ensuring the speedy migration of TRIPS in all tax offices across the country, he said.
By Cephas Larbi