The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says it is under pressure from the public to implement the tax reliefs announced by government in the 2017 budget.
With the approval of the four tax bills which were presented to parliament by the finance minister, the public expectation for the enforcement of these bills has heightened.
According to the Assistant Commissioner for Imports and Exports, Seidu Yakubu, there are efforts being made to align the laws in that regard.
He explains to Starr Business’ Osei Owusu Amankwaah that the implementation must be done cautiously to avoid flouting international trade regulations.
“Taxation is law, so we can’t just get up and say we have implemented. There is a process that we pass through to ensure it becomes a law,” he said.
“So they say abolishing of import duties; under ECOWAS protocol they have duty elements, so we have to take supplementary duty elements, so we have to take supplementary protection measure. So we have to write to ECOWAS for their approval and our parliament has to give assent after government has made the announcement.”
He, however, asked the public to bear with the delay as it is all part of effort to ensure the right procedures are satisfied.
“We are assuring the public that they should relax. It will definitely come to pass. We all go to the market, so when it is good it is good for everybody and we all realize it is good. But we have to make sure that it is within the law,” Yakubu spoke on the sidelines of the Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference.
The event, according to the organisers, will bring together players in the trade and finance sectors spanning agriculture, manufacturing, insurance, construction, import and export as well as foreign businesses from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
