The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication has warned that anyone who fakes wrongful deductions as part of the E-levy implementation risks facing legal action.
The government, in collaboration with the entities assisting with implementation, has put in place mechanisms to correct exempted transactions that have so far been affected by the levy’s modified phased implementation.
In an interview with Citi News, the chamber’s CEO, Dr. Ken Ashigbey, assured that affected individuals would be reimbursed once they could prove their identity.
“The system will not be able to tell the identity of the money on the other side when the money is transferred and the levy is applied. There is a process for the customer to report for verification for the refund to be made.”
“That process is in place, and it’s something the Commissioner General [of GRA] has issued directives on, so it’s being worked on. The note of caution is that when these claims are being collected, we should make sure that it’s genuine. If the GRA finds out that a claim is false, it will take you on legally”, Ken Ashigbey added.
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The new 1.5 percent value tax, which went into effect on Sunday, May 1, 2022, has been fraught with difficulties, including the failure to apply some exemptions from the tax.
Some social media users, for example, have complained that transfers on the same or different networks or banks owned by the same user are attracting the tax, despite the fact that they are not supposed to.
However, Deputy Finance Minister John Kumah has stated that the government will address the initial implementation challenges.
“I’ve heard about some challenges [with the E-levy] and with every digital product that you introduce, there are bound to be challenges, but the important thing is that as a government we have built a robust system with all the stakeholders and all the challenges that are being talked about will be addressed in due course,” he said in an interview with some journalists in the Ashanti Region.
“I have heard about a few people complain about some of the exemptions that were supposed to apply but are not applying. These are things that will be worked on. But generally, it [E-levy] is working,” he added.
He urged Ghanaians to be hopeful and optimistic about the E-levy’s potential to accelerate the country’s development.
SOURCE: CITINEWS
