The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has bemoaned the low participation of exporters and importers in retrieving their VAT refund.
Speaking on the issue, Revenue Officer, with the Ghana Revenue Authority, Akwesi Osei Nkrumah appealed to importers and exporters’ t0 retrieve their funds.
“When you are exporting, the law empowers you to come back to us and take that VAT back, so it is not a draw back at all. In fact some exporters have been enjoying that facility for years but considering the numbers, I think that the people that come to our offices for this funds are very few, the numbers are not encouraging at all, so we encourage all exporters to go to our various offices and retrieve their VAT”, he said.
He also assured importers and exporters that they had nothing to lose from retrieving the funds.
“The VAT refund is definitely not a drawback. We all know the principle of input-output. Now if you are an exporter you expect that whatever you export you have paid VAT in the course of the export but you cannot charge the output because it is zero rating”.
Mr. Nkrumah however admitted that lack of education to importers and exporters on the issue has contributed to their low patronage.
“It’s probably because they do not know about this facility so we might have to create more awareness on our part. The law says that once you export and it only has to be twenty five percent of your goods you are entitled to it”
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By: Anita Arthur/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
