Head of Excise Tax Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Akoto Apau, has reiterated the authority’s commitment in the prudent implementation of the new Excise Duty Act, 2023 (Act 1093), which revised the excise duty on cigarettes, tobacco products and sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) in the country. He made this known at the National stakeholders meeting on Health Tax and the implementation of the Excise Tax Act 2023. The event was organized by the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD) with support from the Advocating for Health Coalition (A4H).
In his remarks, Apau explained that the primary aim of the Ghana Revenue authority is to collect taxes and that the authority performs this task with dedicated tax laws. He further revealed that an analysis of the import excise collected in the month of May after the implementation of the new tax law indicates an impressive quantum jump compared to that of April.
“Our business is to collect taxes and that is what we have been doing all this while with the backing of the law. We promise that we will do our best to make sure that these taxes are well implemented. Infact, implementation has already started and when you look at the import excise we collected in April against that of May, when we started the implementation of Act 1093, the jump was very impressive” he noted.
Apau further indicated that tobacco products have not started coming in and that when the huge volumes of these products still come through the ports, the country will see massive improvement in excise revenue. He charged civil society and academia to continue to collaborate with authority to educate the public on the public health benefits of the taxes.
“The imposition of these taxes is an indirect investment in public health,” he reiterated.
The Executive Director In-Charge of Programs at VALD, Labram Musah, explained that stakeholder meetings for updates on the Excise tax are very vital for the evaluation of the tax policy for an round-development of the country. He revealed that, his outfit has commissioned a research institution to conduct a baseline survey to determine the efficiency of the Excise Tax Act 2023 as the implementation continues. He also indicated that, VALD is planning a National Tax Forum to discuss issues of taxation and its direct effect on healthcare in the Ghana.
“We are planning a very big National Tax Forum which will come off around September, with discussions on taxation, because it is an important interest area for us,” he added.
Dr. Amos Laar, from the Public Health Department of the University of Ghana, called for a closer collaboration between state institutions, civil society organizations and academia for a comprehensive evaluation of the Excise Tax Act 2023, to enhance its efficiency. He pleaded with the various stakeholders including the media to avail themselves for an effective data collection and evaluations at all times.
National stakeholders meeting on Health Tax & implementation of the Excise Tax Act 2023 brought together officials from the Ministry of Finance (MOF), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Ghana Standard Authority (GSA), Ministry of Health (MOH), World Health Organization (WHO) and several Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the country.
By Derick Botsyoe
