The government’s introduction of an electronic value-added tax (E-VAT) invoicing system for VAT-registered businesses in Ghana has faced several major hurdles since its launch. The new invoicing system is intended as an improvement to the way VAT transactions are invoiced. However, due to the incompetence of the GRA software support team writing the software code and working with various companies to implement E-VAT, the system failed to function properly in many companies.
Instead of taking full responsibility for the non-efficiency of the new system, the GRA prefers to select companies with media publicity to exonerate their own failures, and in the process, destroy big businesses that employ thousands of Ghanaians and pay millions. in tax revenue for the government every year.
Companies such as Shoprite, MTN, Maxmart, Melcom Palace Mall etc. have all fallen victim to the negligence of the Ghana Revenue Authority in the past few weeks when the GRA entered the scene with hired media persons, arresting managers and false narratives about them. so-called non-compliance with E-VAT invoices when they know that this company has worked diligently with the incompetent GRA software support team to resolve the challenges associated with the new system.
Sources inside the GRA itself have told us that all the problems and challenges with the new E-VAT invoicing system that the company is facing have been reported to the GRA over the past few months.
There are documents from GRA sources available to support the claim that there have been several exchanges between these affected companies and GRA in the past few months where companies have raised all new system issues to GRA and sought GRA software support teams. help to quickly resolve them.
However, affected companies and software engineers have been frustrated by delays from GRA’s software support team in handling complaints about the new system’s real-time functionality. In other words, the software code written by GRA is worthless that fails to support the system.
In any case, this is a challenge that does not result in a loss of profit for the government because, according to the company, no sale is made without an invoice even if it cannot print the invoice. In addition, the GRA can always determine whether the companies owe the government during the downturn. This is what a GRA who owns a business will do.
But instead of approaching the problem professionally to ensure a win-win situation for the government and the affected companies, the GRA chose a populist approach where they cover up their own inefficiencies, damaging the reputation of the big employer and causing them to lose business. by extension, cause the government to release tax revenues.
Arresting an innocent branch manager who had nothing to do with the malfunctioning E-VAT software, displaying his picture on national television and psychologically terrorizing his family cannot be the right approach of the revenue authorities.
The mandate of the GRA is not to do things that will cause the company to lose business. they are also supposed to do things that will cause the government to release tax revenue. But in this case of E-VAT, what GRA is doing is spreading false stories about E-VAT non-compliance by companies that are doing everything possible to comply and work with GRA for efficient functioning. new system.
The software support team of GRA, a South African company, without any knowledge of the Ghanaian retail business, was solely responsible for writing the software code for the E-VAT invoicing system. Any system failure is therefore not to be blamed on the registered companies affected but on the GRA software support team.
Unfortunately, all the delays and failures have emanated from the GRA which has now refused to take responsibility for its own failures.
GRA victims are large companies that are also large employers in Ghana, the arrest and harassment of their staff, in fear of mongering among customers, false media narratives orchestrated by GRA all amount to attacking and destroying legitimate businesses, causing government revenues to dwindle. and may ultimately result in reduced employment by the affected companies.
The Ghana Revenue Authority and its software support team must take responsibility for the failures and inefficiencies of the new E-VAT invoicing system and work with software engineers to write proper code to resolve all issues affecting the smoothness of E-VAT. They should also immediately get rid of innocent companies like Ritus Toko, MTN, Melcom, Maxmart and their innocent employees, among others who are engaged in legitimate business in Ghana and paying taxes to the government.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
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