Ghana: Recent Tax Developments in Ghana

Ghana, with a population of about 33 million located in West Africa provides an opportunity to investors with a wealth of natural resources such as cocoa, gold, oil, timber, and gas. Ghana is known for its political stability, providing a secure environment for business operations.

Recent tax developments on the continent.

Following Julie Essiam's resignation, Ghana's President appointed Anthony Sarpong as the new Commissioner-General of the GRA. Major tax reforms in the 2025 Budget aim to ease economic pressure, including the abolition of several taxes and VAT reforms.

Recent tax developments from nine countries on the continent.

The Ghana Revenue Authority has launched the second phase of its Electronic VAT Invoicing System, onboarding 2,000 VAT-registered businesses. Additionally, Ghana is negotiating income tax treaties with several countries.

Explore the Doing Business in Ghana Guide 2024 by WTS Nobisfields - your personal guide to the Ghana's legal and taxation system and beyond.

Recent tax developments from nine countries on the continent.

Recent tax developments in Ghana include a two-month amnesty for uncustomed vehicles (Aug-Sept 2024), the implementation of VAT on Additional Oil Entitlement (AOE) for upstream contractors, and expanded tax incentives for the extractive sector and electric vehicle manufacturers.

Recent tax developments from eight countries on the continent.

The Ghana Revenue Authority has started rolling out Electronic VAT Invoicing System that will help businesses and GRA to obtain real time monitoring of VAT transactions.

The Ghanaian government implemented VAT provisions from the VAT Act of 2013 on January 1, 2024, as part of its post-COVID-19 economic recovery program.

Recent tax developments from eight countries on the continent.

In 2019, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in exercise of its statutory duty conducted a tax audit of Seadrill Ghana Operations Limited from January 2012 to December 2018. 

An amendment to the first schedule of the Income Tax, 2015 (Act 896) resulted in a new annual graduated tax scale for resident individuals.

The Income Tax Act (“Act”) has been in existence since 1974. 

The tremendous effort of the government to increase the tax net and promote voluntarily tax compliance, there has been a new tax amendment passed by parliament and assented to by the president.

The high court on 10 November 2022 gave a ruling on Coca-Cola Eequatorial Africa limited vs. the commissioner general.

The donation will provide 120 girls in rural government schools with a year's supply of sanitary products. This will assist in addressing the Period Poverty plaguing them. 

The Supreme Court of Ghana upheld the provisions of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016, Act 915 (as amended) and High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I 47) of pay now and argue later in the case brought before the Supreme Court by Richard Amo-Hene.

This case is an application filed by Afia African Village Limited (AAVL) “Applicant” seeking to invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to quash the ruling of the High Court. 

On 24th November 2022, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister in Charge of Finance and Economic Planning presented to the Parliament of Ghana a draft budget for the fiscal year of 2023.

The Value Added Tax Act, 2013 has been amended by the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act which came into force on 12 September 2022. 

The article from Ghana sheds light on the newly established transfer pricing regulations, capturing some of the BEPS Action Items.