Parliament grants tax waiver to GIS to clear weapons

Parliament has granted a tax waiver to four State Institutions to tune of about ¢41,480,946.16.

One of the Institutions, Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) was granted this to clear weapons donated to them.

The waivers to the other three companies: Metro Mass Transit Limited, Ministry of Regional Reorganisation and Development, and STC Company Limited were on vehicles to be procured for them.

In his report, the Chairman of the finance committee, Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah noted: “The Service is now responsible for manning and protecting the nation’s borders.

The borders are now opened twenty-Four (24) hours a day in conformity with the ECOWAS protocol which aims at facilitating the free movement of goods and services.

The Committee’s attention was also drawn to the precarious security situation within the sub-region and the need to adequately arm the security personnel that man the country’s borders,” he added.

According to him, it is in this vein that Section 24 of Act 906 now provides that officers in the discharge of duties may use firearms, stressing, “in furtherance of this mandate, that the Service accepted a donation of ammunition”.

The report said as part of the agreement, the Service is responsible for the taxes and duties associated with the donation.

The chairman stated that the ammunitions are currently at the port waiting to be cleared, hence “the need for a parliamentary waiver to enable the Service clear the ammunition for use”.

Since the passage of the Ghana Immigration Act, 2016 Act 908, the functions of the Immigration Service have now expanded.

The waivers are as follows:

i. Request for waiver of Import Duties, Import VAT, GETFund Levy, NHIL L8vy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM Levy, Special Import Levy, AU Levy, and other taxes amounting to Fourteen Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty-Eight Ghana Cedis and Seventy-Seven Pesewas (GH¢14,785,658.77) on vehicles to be procured for the Metro Mass Transit Limited,

ii. Request for waiver of Import Duties, Import VAT, GETF‘und Levy, NHIL Levy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM Levy, Special Import Levy, AU Levy and other taxes amounting to Seven Hundred and Eight Thousand, Six Hundred and Fifty-Two Ghana Cedis and Ninety-Two Pesewas (GH¢708,652.92) on vehicles to be procured for the Ministry of Regional Reorganisation and Development,

iii. Request for waiver of Import Duties, Import VAT, GETFund Levy, NHIL Levy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM Levy, Special Import Levy, AU Levy and other taxes amounting to Twenty-Five Million, One Hundred And Forty-Four Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Nine Ghana Cedis and TwentySeven Pesewas (GH¢25,144,989.27) on vehicles to be procured for the Intercity STC Company Limited and

iv. Request for waiver of Import Duties, Import VAT, GETFund Levy, NHIL Levy, ECOWAS Levy, EXIM Levy, Special Import Levy, AU Levy, and other taxes amounting to Eight Hundred and Forty-One Thousand, Six Hundred and Forty-Five Ghana Cedis and Twenty Pesewas (GH¢841,645.20) on weapons donated to the Ghana Immigration Service.