The difficulties, delays and frustrations associated with the acquisition of a Tax Clearance Certificate and the filing of tax returns will soon be a thing of the past, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has assured Ghanaians, especially the business community.
This
follows the completion of work by the Ghana Revenue Authority to create online
Platforms to automate the process of filing taxes and obtaining a Tax Clearance
Certificate, thereby eliminating the many challenges associated with the
current manual process of issuance.
Addressing
participants at the 10th Annual International Tax Conference organized by the
Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana in Accra, Dr Bawumia said the current
Tax Certificate issuance regime, operating in accordance with the Revenue
Administration Act, needed some fine-tuning, and the Ghana Revenue Authority
had undertaken the necessary works to make that happen.
“For the purpose of promoting tax
compliance, the Commissioner-General has maintained a system of Tax Clearance
Certificates (TCC) in accordance with Sections 10 & 11 of the Revenue
Administration Act. This process of obtaining the clearance certificate has
been done manually with the issuance of a handwritten certificates over the
years. It has been characterized with delays in the issuance by GRA, challenges
in verifying genuine TCCs by recipients, the use of Fake TCCs, alleged
malpractices of some Tax Officials among others.
“It
is from this background that I directed the leadership of the GRA to automate
the process of obtaining Tax Clearance Certificates and I am glad to announce
to you that this process has been completed and will go live by October,” the
Vice President disclosed.
Officials
of the GRA explained that to access the service, one would have to log into the
taxpayer portal and apply for the TCC online in accordance with Section 14 of
the Revenue Administration Act from the new feature that has been made
available on the Platforms.
The system does the background check
to ensure there are no outstanding tax returns and payments and then issues to
successful applicants an Electronic Tax Clearance Certificate automatically.
“The
electronic copy Tax Clearance Certificate is also sent to the requestee- third
Party who has demanded for the Certificate. Unsuccessful applicants are then
served with reasons for their denial of the automatic eTCC.
“From
the foregoing it is evident the issue of fake TCC will be a thing of the past,
delays would be eliminated, and there would be enhanced transparency through
the automatic verification and electronic issuance of the TCC to the Taxpayer
and the requesting institution,” the Vice President added.
Filing of taxes
The
GRA’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division has also introduced a self-service portal,
Ghana Taxpayers’ App, available on Google and Apple Play store, as well as on www.taxpayersportal.com.
The use of the portals enables the
taxpayer to view balances on their ledgers (tax position at any time), get
reminders on due dates for payments of tax liabilities, file all tax returns
and get credits with tax credit when one suffers withholding tax.
This
would also afford employees the chance to monitor the correctness of their
income taxes deducted and paid by their employers.
“As
a taxpayer, you no longer need to join long queues in tax offices to pay taxes,
simply pay on the Ghana.gov payment platform or any of the commercial banks of
your choice. All you require to sign up is the Ghana card number as citizens or
non-citizens or TIN for entities to comply with your tax obligations online,”
Dr Bawumia explained.
The
Authority will also have a USSD code that allows every Ghanaian to check on
their tax compliance status by dialing *899*42#.
“All Ghanaians and all entities are
therefore encouraged to check their tax compliance status. If they are not
compliant, they can immediately file their tax returns and settle any
outstanding on their mobile phone.”
Accessing Public Services
“These
automations of repetitive task are aimed at reducing the discretionary use of
powers and its attendant alleged corruption by public officials while promoting
voluntary compliance and a friendly taxpaying environment,” he emphasized.
“I must add that given that we have
now made it very easy for anyone to file and pay their taxes, from next year
many public services will require the presentation of tax clearance
certificates before the services are rendered. This will enhance compliance and
therefore domestic revenue mobilization,” the Vice President disclosed.
Source: Graphic Online