GRA Assures Of Robust System To Keep Records On All E-Levy Deductions

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has assured that it has put in place enough systems to track and keep all records of deductions done as part of the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy).

This follows an order from the Supreme Court charging the GRA to keep accurate records of all e-levy deductions to enable a refund to payees if it is later determined that the law was passed unconstitutionally.

The order from the Supreme Court came after its 7-member panel unanimously dismissed an injunction application by the Minority in Parliament to have the implementation of the controversial levy temporarily suspended until the court makes a determination on its substantive case challenging the legality of the E-levy.The Court said the Republic would suffer a great deal if the government is temporarily stopped from deducting the levy from electronic transfers.

It however noted that mechanisms do exist within the current tax regime to refund payees who have either overpaid or wrongfully paid, and that must be taken advantage of.

Speaking to Citi Business News about the order of the apex court, is a member of the GRA E-Levy Technical Team, Patrick Frimpong-Danso said they are ready to provide any records when called upon.

“We’ve sent a format to all the charging entities to report daily to us. So we have a template that we’ve given to all the charging entities and they are reporting everyday transactions to us and the transactions are broken down into different modules. We have on one hand the total value of the E-Levy charged by a charging entity that is both on-net and off-net as well as those that apply to other entities like the banks.”

“Also we are asking for data relating to reversals. So in case the court requests for the data, we have a template in place to help us,” he added.