GRA Issues Warning as Vehicle Tax Amnesty Deadline Nears
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued a deadline for individuals who have evaded vehicle taxes by smuggling them into the country through unapproved routes or overstaying temporary importation periods to come forward and benefit from its tax amnesty exercise before September 30.
The Tax Amnesty Act, which is already in force, aims to improve voluntary tax compliance and widen the tax net. It also presents an opportunity for all taxpayers and potential taxpayers who have defaulted to fulfill their tax obligations voluntarily.
This year, the GRA began its tax amnesty exercise on August 1, 2024, and has set September 30 as the deadline.
Addressing members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) during a GRA media engagement at Nungua in Accra, as part of GRA’s Tax Education Month, Justice Njornan Magah, Supervisor of the Vehicle Valuation Unit at the Customs Head Office, assured strict compliance with tax laws in the country.
“We encourage people to comply with the tax laws. Every year, GRA declares a tax amnesty, and this year is no different. GRA wants those who have not complied with the tax laws and have vehicles in the country, whether they came through approved routes using the temporary importation regime, which allows them to stay for 90 days, or they smuggled them through unapproved routes into the country, to come forward.”
“They can declare that they have these vehicles and are not paying taxes on them. We will do the assessment—only the vehicle duty, VAT, and other taxes; penalties will be waived. That is what the amnesty does.”
According to Magah, the GRA aims to encourage voluntary compliance with tax laws. However, some individuals misuse temporary importation privileges, especially ECOWAS members who bring vehicles into Ghana for 90 days but fail to extend their stay or use fictitious documents to avoid proper duty payments.
“Our operations team will inspect such vehicles using diagnostic machines that can detect unpaid duties or tampered chassis numbers. If discrepancies are found, including tampered vehicle details, a 300% penalty on the original duty may be imposed for non-compliance.”
The annual tax amnesty exercise has proven to be an effective measure in raising revenue over time, leading to its inclusion in Section 652 of the Revenue Administration Act, which empowers the Commissioner-General to declare amnesty.
Magah warned that driving unregistered vehicles will result in their detention and possible auction if not claimed within 30 days. He refuted claims that vehicles would be confiscated if their owners come forward during the amnesty period.
Additionally, he announced that from October 1, 2024, officials from the Customs Division of the GRA will embark on nationwide road surveillance to arrest all uncustomized vehicles.”
Story by Nana Kwaku Boffah.
