The Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority Brigadier General Zibrim Bawah Ayorrogo has announced additional measures to encourage the regular and prompt payment of taxes by businesses and individuals.
He stated that despite the progress made in meeting revenue targets, his officers remain committed to ensuring that all tax obligations are fulfilled.
During a working visit to the Ashanti Region, he met customs officers to address challenges in their operations and explore ways to improve their working conditions.
He acknowledged existing shortfalls in tax collection but assured that his team is developing innovative ways to close the gaps.
“Previously, there were shortfalls, but we are using other innovative ways of filling the gaps. This is a critical year, it’s an election year, and it is the last quarter. In the last quarter, you have to work so hard. When it comes to an election year, there’s this system of ‘wait and see’ and if you’re a businessman, you’ll understand that business is about certainty.
“You have to bring your goods to the market and you know that from this time to this time you’ll make a profit. So the challenges are there. We can look at the volumes. The import duties are low, yet we are encouraging. Now we visit the companies and ask them to make good on their promise, we encourage them to pay taxes. Initially, it wasn’t so, but now we’re having a tax education. Now we’re encouraging stakeholders. We go to the chiefs to talk to their subjects.
“Please tell your subjects, and your traders, to pay taxes. We’re getting results out of this and without this we would not get to where we are.”
Commenting on the recent clash between police and customs officers at the Missiga security checkpoint in the Upper East Region, he attributed the incident to leadership failures among the officers in charge.
“You know, all the challenges and difficulties we’ve been having are based on leadership. There’s nothing anybody can do. Customs is customs, immigration is immigration, it’s well established. All those leaders should try to work together. If you go to Enugu and you find customs and immigration the way they work together, you’ll not believe it. So perfect.
“So individual differences among commanders sometimes generate this issue. At the national security level, these are the big people who sit, but at the local level, you find people not communicating. It’s just a leadership issue. If you’re to find leaders working hand in hand, everybody in that organization will follow.
“What happened at Missiga is just an unfortunate situation. A committee has been set up…so they’ll look at it whose fault it is that led to this incident.”
