Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in the Western Region have embarked on a series of public education to enlighten taxpayers on the new VAT Amendment Act, 2017 (Act 948), Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915) and offences and sanctions under the Act (Act 915).
Participants were also taken through the current policy changes in the customs administration such as paperless system, joint examination, barrier-less customs territory, tariff reduction and requirements for vehicle importation and clearance among others.
Participants included exporters, importers, manufacturers, business owners, customs house agents and the trading public.
Taking participants through the offences and sanctions of the Revenue Administration Act (Act 915), Mr. Ben Oduro Williams hinted that under Section 73 of the Act, a person who fails to file returns as required by the Tax Laws is liable to pay a penalty of GH¢ 500, while a further penalty of GH¢10.00 shall be imposed for each day that the failure continues.
He said, the Commissioner General of the GRA may in addition to the penalty imposed, prosecute the person to compel the person to submit the returns, however, to forestall the inconvenience and embarrassment associated with the above action, “we are strongly advised to submit our returns (including NIL returns) on or before the due dates.
Mr. Oduro mentioned the returns affected by the new Act as Company Income Tax (4 months after the basis period), Personal Income Tax (4 months after the basis period), Pay As You Earn – PAYE (15th of the following month), Withholding Tax (15th on the following month) and Value Added Tax – VAT (last working day of the following month).
For his part, Mr. Charles K. Thompson Junior urged that those who operate limited liability companies should file the declaration forms for a relief as soon as they witness a possible liquidation, adding that the declaration forms should be filed by managers and not the accountants.
According to him, the lack of proper book keeping and records by most traders are the leading cause of the failure to track purchases and sales made, and urged participants to adhere to proper book keeping and record practices to enable them track their expenditure so as to know the exact amount to pay on the returns.
Story: From Seth Ameyaw Danquah, Takoradi, Western Region