Adnan Adams Mohammed
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), will have to employ effective and efficient revenue collection strategies to be able to mobilise about GHC8.0 million for the last month of the year, December to be able to meet its target for the year.
The Authority, which had missed almost all it quarterly targets within the year, raked in GHc¢37 billion in tax revenue collected as at the end of November this year, out of the GH¢45 billion revenue target set by the authority for 2019.
Averagely, from the GHC37 billion collected so as at November, the Authority collected GHC3.36 billion on monthly basis. Although the GRA is optimistic of collecting the remaining amount in taxes in order to meet the target, it is almost unlikely ambition to pursue.
In relation to recent development, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Mr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, briefing the media in Accra about the recent fire incident in the VAT office at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle noted that, there was no loss of money nor data, which could hinder the effort to meet revenue collection targets.
“We want to reemphasize that the incident has had no negative implication on revenue collection as we continue to work assiduously to meet our target before end of year” he asserted.
The GRA has begun moves to rent provisional offices for its operations as renovation works are set to begin on the affected offices. Staff of the affected offices have also been redeployed to other GRA offices.
The authority has also served notice to taxpayers who transact business at the affected Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) to, until further notice, transact business at the Kinbu Sub LTO, Kaneshie MTO (medium taxpayer office), Osu MTO, Legon MTO, Tema MTO, while taxpayers at the Adabraka MTO, could do business at the Adabraka small taxpayer office (STO).
While the GRA regrets the unfortunate incident, it noted, it is still awaiting reports on the fire from the Ghana National Fire Service to determine the next line of action.
But the Commissioner-General said the GRA will continue its nationwide enforcement activities with a number of distress actions scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.
Other efforts to augment revenue collection before end of this year include the mounting of road blocks to check excise tax stamps, Value Added Tax (VAT) invoices on goods being transported including checks on import documents among others.
