GRA to charge VAT on online purchases from August

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Sarpong, has announced plans to deploy an automated system that will deduct Value Added Tax (VAT) from online payments for goods and digital services at the point of purchase.

The move is aimed at improving tax compliance and boosting domestic revenue mobilisation. According to him, a three-month pilot has been successfully completed, with the system set for deployment from August this year.

Speaking at a tax education forum organised by the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) in Accra, Mr. Sarpong said the intervention is critical because the voluntary approach to the essential tax handle on online payments is not yielding positive results.

“Our analysis of the 2025 data shows that had the system been deployed, it could have generated more than GH¢2.5billion in revenue for the state,” he said.

The measure forms part of a broader reform agenda aimed at plugging loopholes in tax administration. As part of the initiative, businesses will be required to use the authority’s point-of-sale (POS) devices for all transactions to enhance tax collection, enable real-time monitoring and reduce revenue leakages associated with manual systems.

The tax authority boss explained that when the system is rolled out, even non-resident companies selling goods to Ghanaian consumers online will be taxed.

“When you are buying an item and paying for it online, the system will intervene at the point of payment, deduct the appropriate VAT and hand it over to government,” he added.

Digital assets next in line

The GRA also plans to expand the digital ecosystem to cover gains from cryptocurrency assets and transactions. This sector, Mr. Sarpong noted, has enormous potential as many young people are storing wealth in cryptocurrency assets.

“It is important that they also contribute their fair share,” he said.

Duty credit scheme to end port confiscations  

Mr. Sarpong further revealed that GRA is working with banks to allow importers access to loans to pay their duties to prevent confiscations.

Under current law, importers who fail to pay duties on their goods within 90 days risk having their consignments confiscated by the state, which subsequently pursues recovery of the tax component while the trader stands to lose the entire shipment.

“This is not a positive outcome for any of us because once a trading facility is disrupted, it ultimately affects our ability to continue collecting taxes,” he said.

However, under the advanced duty payment facility, a financial institution will step in to provide a three to one year credit facility to the importer. The importer then takes the goods, sells them and repays the loan.

 real-time sales monitoring to plug VAT leakage

Mr. Sarpong confirmed that the GRA is moving to automate VAT collection across board. He said out of roughly ten categories of businesses identified, only about four are charging VAT while six are unregistered, registered but not charging or charging and keeping the proceeds.

To close this gap, the Commissioner-General said every retail point of sale will be required to process all transactions through a dedicated device linked to GRA systems, while service providers will be put on an e-invoicing platform.

“The automation will allow GRA to be at a point of your trading and receive the information real-time when transactions are taking place,” he said.

Outlook
Describing GRA’s last year performance as “great work” despite a 6 percent shortfall, Mr. Sarpong noted there’s an opportunity to improve, adding that his outfit is committed to mobilising GH¢225billion this year, exactly the target the Ministry of Finance set for the year.

“Today, we can assure that we are on course and we are delivering on that mandate,” he said.

GNCCI bets on tax education to stop harassment
For his part, President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Stephane Miezan underscored the importance of the engagement, attributing tax non-compliance in part to inadequate awareness among businesses.

He said the chamber organised the meeting to improve tax education within the business community; and called for members to be treated fairly by tax officials, stressing that businesses should not be subjected to unnecessary harassment.

Mr. Miezan recounted a personal experience in which he was left stranded due to a lack of understanding of the distinction between a tax credit and a tax liability.

He noted that as explained by the Commissioner-General, businesses are required to apply for tax credits, but questioned whether all private sector operators were sufficiently informed about the process.

He said the discussions had provided businesses with an opportunity to gain a clearer understanding of tax obligations, adding that the Commissioner-General and his team had responded satisfactorily to concerns raised by participants.

Mr. Miezan further encouraged young entrepreneurs to take advantage of available tax reliefs, including incentives for businesses that establish operations outside major cities.

He also urged private sector players to join the chamber to strengthen its advocacy efforts, noting that a united business community would be better positioned to influence government policy.

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