Tax evasion bleeding Ghana

Accra, Sept. 10, GNA - Mr. Justice Samuel Glenn Baddoo, Chairman of the Committee Investigating Operational Irregularities at the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), on Monday expressed worry over the huge loss of revenue to the state through tax evasion.

He stated after a witness had given evidence at the committee's hearing in Accra that the deliberate evasion of taxes had become a canker that was depriving the nation of revenue. Mr. Baddoo urged Ghanaians to be concerned about the loss of revenue because taxes played a significant role in nation building. He said tax evasion was one of the worst offences against the law in the US.


A witness, Mr. Kwabena Ahenkorah, who is also a private investigator had earlier told the Committee of a massive customs duty evasion on about 40,000 vehicles since the last two years. Mr. Ahenkorah, in his evidence on Monday said he had just last Friday impounded 10 vehicles, and parked them at the Korle Bu Police Station for non-payment of customs duties.


In some cases the vehicles were fraudulently registered, using the declaration of old cars, or items that attracted lower duties. He spoke of an instance during his investigation that a declaration that was made for a car was originally for spare parts, and another instance where the declaration for a Tico car was to register 12 articulated vehicles.

Mr. Ahenkorah called for the reintroduction of Purchase Tax as a means of reducing the fraudulent registration of vehicles at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).


In his evidence, Mr George Essel Ackom, Director in Charge of Vehicle Inspection and Registration, said the DVLA, had added additional terminal to get hooked on to the Ghana Community Network, a computerized system of monitoring vehicles on which customs duty had been paid before it could be legally registered.


However, what was required now was training of its staff and a strong collaboration with the CEPS to eliminate all middleman practices that flourished fraudulent registration of vehicles.