Boycott excisable products without tax stamp - GRA to Ghanaians  

The Ghana Revenue Authority, GRA, is asking Ghanaians to boycott excisable products that do not have the Tax Stamp. 

GRA is also warning producers, importers, distributors or retailers of any such products to take advantage of the incentives including the Tax Amnesty. 

The Commissioner General of the GRA, Emmanuel Kofi Nti, made the call in Kumasi at a media interaction.  

At the media interaction were some Board Members and Management Staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority. 

Addressing the media, the Commissioner General of the GRA, Emmanuel Kofi Nti, emphasized that the Excise Tax Stamp policy is not a new tax regime but one which legal framework, Act 873, was enacted by Parliament in 2013. 

According to the Commissioner General the tax stamps apart from generating revenue will protect consumers from fake products on the market.

Later, technical advisors to the Commissioner General led a team of the GRA and the media to the Kumasi Mall in a follow up on an earlier exercise during which the managers of Shoprite and Game were directed to remove products without the Tax Stamp from the shelves. 

It was realized that while some of the manufacturers had complied with the earlier directive and fixed the Tax Stamp on the products, a substantial quantity of the products still did not have the Stamp and were therefore removed from the shelves. 

At the Ababio Shopping Centre at Amakom, no product covered under the law had the Tax Stamp fixed on it. The Manager was directed to immediately see the GRA for the Stamp.

The team’s last port of call was at Breman where they visited the premises of the Obibini Blackman Distilleries, producers of the Brukutu Ginger Gin Bitters and the Zet bottled water.

However, on arrival, the team was informed by people believed to be workers that the company was not in operation, contrary to the clear evidence. Checks by officials of the GRA revealed that the company was not complying with the law. 

In an interview, a technical advisor to the Commissioner General, Sam Yirenkyi, noted that while most of the imported covered products had the Tax Stamp fixed on them, local manufacturers were not complying with the law.

GBCONLINE
---DECRYPTED---