By Albert Allotey, GNA
Accra, May 21, GNA – The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in collaboration with the Institute of Leadership and Development (INSLA) has undertaken an exercise at the Nima-Maamobi Market in Accra to monitor how traders, distributors, wholesalers and importers complied with payment of Excise Duty Tax.
The INSLA, a civil society organisation, together with the GRA. is implementing a project called “Strengthening Capacity on the Implementation and Enforcement of the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act 1108 of 2023 (Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) Tax in Ghana
The project is aimed at reducing the consumption of unhealthy beverages and to help generate revenue to support health initiatives in the country.
During the exercise, several SSB, energy drinks and alcoholic products were seized from some shops at the markets by the GRA.
Some of the drinks were local and foreign malts drinks, Guiness Malt and Vodka among others. They had no excise duty stamps affixed on them; others were swapped with different tax stamps.
The owners of the shops were served with seized notice and asked to contact the GRA for further processes.
Mr Nelson Bright Atsu, Head, Excise Compliance and Chief Revenue Officer of the GRA in an interview with the media said the operation would be a continuous programme to ensure that distributers, sellers, wholesalers and importers complied with the law.
He said: “Shop owners should ensure goods and products are affixed with required excise tax stamps before they receive them, otherwise when we see them, we will pick them and owners will bear with the full consequence for those infractions.”
He said the GRA and the INSLA would continue to educate the public on the law and the (GRA Authenticator) for them verify the tax stamps that have the colours of orange and mauve/purple,
Mr Atsu said:“The App is at google play store and we are educating the people to download it on their phones to scan the excise tax stamp to ensure compliance while helping to report infractions to the GRA.
“When you see an energy drink which has water excise duty tax stamp of 17.5 per cent instead of 20 per cent of ex-factory price it has the implication of the State losing some revenue and these are some of the things we are checking.”
Mr Benjamin Anabila, the Director of INSLA said his organisation was mainly focused on reducing the consumption of SSBs, which were some of the key factors to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that currently was at par or outweighing communicable diseases.
He mentioned some of the NCDs as diabetes and obesity.
He announced that the INSLA was partnering with the GRA for the exercise to ensure that the SSBs in the Ghanaian markets complied with the excise tax to reduce consumption.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah