President of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA), Clement Boateng, has accused the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Finance Ministry of abandoning an agreed roadmap for the implementation of the new Value Added Tax (VAT) regime, a move he says is causing confusion and tension in the trading community.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Boateng expressed frustration over what he described as the unwillingness of the authorities to engage traders, despite earlier commitments to consult stakeholders before rolling out the new system.
“I don’t know why the Finance Ministry is avoiding us, and the GRA has also refused to engage us despite our initial agreement on a roadmap for the implementation. GRA has violated the roadmap,” he said.
According to him, GUTA and the tax authorities had agreed to establish a technical committee to guide the transition and address concerns from the business community, but that process was never implemented.
“If we had set up the committee as agreed, we would have seen the way forward. But we didn’t follow the roadmap. We would have brought all the issues to the table if the committee had been set up,” Mr. Boateng stated.
He stressed that VAT reforms are technical and require clear explanations, particularly for small and medium-scale traders who may struggle to understand policy statements issued by the GRA.
“This is a technical issue that requires proper explanation. How many people will even understand the statement they have issued? This will only create chaos, and that is why I want to engage the relevant authorities, but all efforts have proven futile,” he added.
Mr. Boateng said he was surprised by the lack of response, given his cordial relationship with Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
“I don’t really know what is happening because I have a good and cordial relationship with the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, so I don’t know why he is avoiding me,” he noted.
He revealed that several attempts to reach the GRA and other government officials have failed.
“I have written to the GRA Commissioner for Domestic Tax. I have sent messages to the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Publicity and Communication; I submitted the names of the committee members to him, but there has been no response. We have petitioned the Chief of Staff, the Trade Minister, and the GRA Commissioner-General on February 5, and till date there has been no response,” he said.
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