GRA Boss runs away from E-Levy Wahala

The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, has left the shores of Ghana at the time the general public is demanding proper education on the recently introduced E-Levy.

The GRA boss, who has been at the forefront of communicating with Ghanaians on the E-Levy, is reported to have left Ghana, with Daniel Ayisi, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations at the Domestic Tax Revenue (DTR) Division of the GRA.

What is making the absence of Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah and Mr. Ayisi problematic is the fact that the head of the DTR, Mr. Edward Gyamera, is currently on leave.

Mr. Ayisi is the person who was heavily involved in the preparation towards the implementation of the E-Levy and would have been a good replacement for the GRA boss in addressing critical issues on the new tax.

Apart from issues relating to the E-Levy, Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah left the country at the time he had been caught pants down granting Transaction Invoice Value to a company on a Saturday, something he has interdicted an officer of the GRA for doing.

Mr. Joseph Adu-Kyei, Deputy Commissioner of the  Customs Division in charge of Operations, has been interdicted and being investigated for granting Fair Treatment and Transaction Invoice Values to some companies.

Shockingly, Rev.Dr. Owusu-Amoah, who interdicted Mr. Adu-Kyei and constituted a committee to investigate him, was caught pants down for granting Fair Treatment and Transaction Invoice Value to a company.

What is creating murmurings within the corridors of the GRA is the fact that Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah wrote to Mr. Adu-Kyei on March 25, 2022 and he went ahead to do what he was interdicting the official over on a Saturday that the offices of the GRA were closed.

In effect, the GRA boss sat in the comfort of his home and granted what he claimed was forbidden in his own letter to Mr. Adu-Kyei to the company with foreign promoters.

The action by the GRA boss has sparked anger because of the clandestine manner he granted the company Transaction Invoice Values on March 26, 2022 which was a Saturday.

It is instructive to note that weekends are not part of the working days of the GRA.

What is making the action by Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah extremely murky is the fact that he stated in the letter to Mr. Adu-Kyei that it was forbidden to grant Transaction Invoice Values because the GRA Board through directives issued on December 16, 2021 made it clear that approval of any discounts or markdowns by the GRA is forbidden.

The directives also demanded the cancellation of all existing approvals of low invoice values, discounts or markdowns.

Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah, in his letter to Mr. Adu-Kyei, claimed that his actions were not only inimical to GRA’s pursuit of its 2022 revenue target of GHC80.3billion, but they also undermine the GRA’s spirit and efforts as it seeks to fulfil its mandate.

The Commissioner General, while chasing Mr. Adu-Kyei, is silent on his own action that is also depriving the GRA of revenue, as stated in his caution letter to the Deputy Customs Commissioner in charge of Operations.

The GRA Board directives on discounts or markdowns did not exempt the Commissioner General, an indication that his action on March 26, 2022 was contrary to the directives.

It is not clear whether or not the GRA Board will take on the Commissioner General as his action has gotten to the board.

More To Come!

Source: newdawngh