E-Levy deductions to commence in May – Ofori-Atta

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has stated that the newly approved Electronic Transfers Levy otherwise known as E-Levy will come into effect from May this year.

Speaking to journalists after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Ofori-Atta said the state institutions charged with collecting the levy had given the assurance of their readiness to implement the policy.

“We had some meetings with Controller and Accountant Generals Department (CAGD) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and they have said right at the beginning of May they should be able to put their system together”, he stated.

The 1.5% tax on electronic transactions was given parliamentary approval on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

The approval, however, was not without controversy, as the minority side of the house staged a walkout moments before a vote was cast on the second reading of the bill.

The one-sided majority approved the second and third readings of the bill and its consideration.

Following the bill’s final approval, the minority has gone ahead to file a suit at the Supreme Court challenging the approval of the E-Levy.

“Our lawyers have this morning successfully commenced an action at the Supreme Court for reliefs which include a declaration that per Article 104(1) of the 1992 Constitution and on the authority of its recent decision in the Justice Abdulai case, the purported passage of the Electronic Transfer Bill, 2021 by 136 NPP MPs is null, void & of no effect,” North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.