According to the Ghana Telecommunications Chamber, the 1.5 percent Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) that was recently passed into law has yet to take effect.
This was in response to claims made by Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga that the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Chamber of Commerce had begun the process of implementing the new tax policy.
In a previous media interview, Mahama Ayariga claimed that the two institutions had already begun the process of charging the tax, and urged them to put it on hold until the Supreme Court rules on the Minority’s suit challenging the levy’s passage.
However, in response to the comments, Ken Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Telecommunications Chamber, stated that his organization has not yet received the full details of the bill after its passage to effect any implementation.
“It was only preparatory engagements that were being done and not as if anybody is implementing anything. What Parliament passes is what becomes law. In terms of the engagements we had with GRA, that was the spirit of the fact that the Bill was before Parliament. Since we had those initial conversations, there hasn’t been any implementation,” he said.
He added: “I have not seen the bill that has been passed, so we have not seen the date in there, so it will depend on what the GRA directs for our members to follow and configure their systems. So, there is still a lot to be done, and we are still waiting”
The government expects systems that will pave the way for the implementation of the electronic transfer levy to be ready by May 2022.
