INTRODUCTION
In December 2009, the three tax revenue agencies, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Value Added Tax Service (VATS) and the Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB) Secretariat were merged in accordance with Ghana Revenue Authority Act 2009, Act 791. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) thus replaces the revenue agencies in the adm
inistration of taxes and custom duties in the country. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been established to:
- Integrate the management of Domestic Tax and Customs
- Modernize Domestic Tax and Customs operations through the review of processes and procedures.
- Integrate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Value Added Tax Service (VATS) into Domestic Tax operations on functional lines. The establishment of the GRA is a culmination of years of plans to streamline the administration of tax collection in Ghana which began in 1986 when CEPS and IRS were taken out of the Civil Service and made semi- autonomous and self accounting public sector institutions with separate boards. The same year, the National Revenue Secretariat (NRS) was set up to formulate revenue policies, manage tax reforms and supervise the activities of CEPS and IRS. In 1998, the Value Added Tax Service was established to administer VAT and other consumption taxes. The Revenue Agencies Governing Board (RAGB) also began operations in 2001 to supervise and monitor the operations of the Revenue Agencies. In 2002, the Taxpayer Identification Number was introduced to enhance information interchange and risk profiling. Then in 2004, the large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) was set up to operate on functional lines as a pilot program for the future integration of tax administration in Ghana as well as to serve the needs of large taxpayers as a one stop shop operation. It is envisaged that the integration of the Revenue Agencies will bring the following benefits to taxpayers and tax administration. It is envisaged that the integration of the Revenue Agencies will bring the following benefits to the taxpayers and tax administration.
- Reduced administrative and tax compliance cost
- Better service delivery
- Improved departmental information flow
- Holistic approach to domestic tax and customs administration
- Enhanced revenue mobilization
The GRA has three main divisions:
- Customs Division
- Domestic Tax Revenue Division
- Support Service Division
The three-winged structure designed to ensure maximum efficiency in the Authority’s core business of revenue mobilization merges the management support services of finance, administration, research of the erstwhile agencies under one Support Services Division, leaving the Customs Division and the Domestic Tax Revenue Division unencumbered by peripheral functions to focus entirely on revenue collection with Support Services Division supporting them with the required management services.
