Anthony Kwesi Sarpong (GRA Commissioner-General), Wisdom Kweku Deku (NIA Executive Secetary)
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has disconnected the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from its Identity Verification System (IVS), citing an outstanding debt of GH¢376.7 million.
The move has paralyzed GRA’s ability to verify taxpayer identities using the Ghana Card, disrupting tax administration, port clearance, and various public services.
The impact has been swift and widespread, with importers and exporters left stranded at ports, unable to clear goods due to failed taxpayer verification.
Businesses have also reported difficulties in registering new Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), while the public’s trust in the digital identity infrastructure faces a serious test.
In an interview with JoyNews, the NIA’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Williams Ampomah Dallas, said the disconnection followed multiple demand notices and official communication that received no response from GRA.
“Yes, absolutely, we have sent them demand notices. Even before we disconnected them from the platform, we sent our final demand notice. We didn’t get any response from them,” he stated.
The NIA is now threatening to go a step further by permanently deleting its data from GRA’s system. According to Mr. Dallas, the authority has formally written to the Data Protection Commission expressing its intent to gain access to GRA’s servers and remove all NIA-owned identity data.
“We’ve written to the Data Protection Commission that we want to go to GRA, get access to their server and delete our data. The data belongs to us, and they’ve shown no sign of commitment to pay what is owed,” he explained.
GRA had relied heavily on the NIA’s database to conduct real-time verification and matching for TIN registrations, using both API integrations and bulk data transfers from the NIA.
Mr. Dallas noted that although the NIA periodically sent bulk data, the GRA’s continued use without settlement of fees became untenable.
“What you have now is a data constraint. Aside from onboarding via the API, we also sent them bulk data to enable matching. That is no longer happening,” he said.
He also highlighted that, as a result of the disconnection, the GRA can no longer register new taxpayers requiring verification, affecting national revenue mobilisation efforts.
NIA’s contact centres, he said, have been flooded with calls from frustrated taxpayers and clients of GRA services.
“Since the disconnection, we’ve been getting calls from people who visited GRA offices and were unable to get verified. There’s nothing we can do. We’ve cut access,” Mr. Dallas noted.
The NIA operates on a semi-commercial basis and depends on service fees from government agencies and private institutions to fund its operations. In 2024, the authority reported unpaid debts totalling over GH¢150 million from various public institutions, a figure that has now more than doubled.
Mr. Dallas stressed that the situation has severely strained the NIA’s operations, including system maintenance, salary payments, and ongoing service upgrades. He appealed to the government and the sector ministry to intervene urgently.
“This is affecting our operational protocol. The platform needs to be maintained, and we need money. We’ve written multiple times to our sector minister. We didn’t act unilaterally. Our minister gave the go-ahead,” he revealed.
He warned other indebted institutions, saying similar actions would be taken if debts remained unpaid. “We are appealing to public institutions to fulfil their obligations. If they don’t, we will deny them access to our services. We can’t run the system on goodwill alone,” he said.
By Ernest Kofi Adu