The Chief Executive of the Chamber of Telecommunications, Ing. Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, says telecom operators will do their best to ensure the required systems are put in place to collect the E-levy.
He said he is uncertain if they will be able to finish the process within the one-month window.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday, Dr. Ashigbey said while telcos are aware of the fact that the bill has already been passed and there would be the need for the immediate implementation of the law, the right infrastructure must be put in place, and tested to ensure that they are fit for purpose before going live.
“I can’t say whether one month will be enough time for all of those systems [necessary] because if there are major variations that have been made, we’ll need to see whether all the things we were looking at, at the beginning could be done within months. From our side, we will do whatever is possible. This is about money, and we don’t want a system where there will be a backlash on it. We need to make sure that we can do the integration with the GRA’s systems and do the user acceptance test and validation to make sure everything is well before we go live. We also know that Parliament has passed the law, and we need to work at that, but those considerations of the practicality of all of that have to be done,” he said.
After President Akufo-Addo assented to the E-levy bill last week, the various stakeholders are under pressure to put in place all the necessary infrastructure to ensure full implementation of the law.
Dr. Ashigbey in an earlier interview said the full details of the bill are yet to be presented to the Chamber for studies, and it will only be after that, that they will decide and make public how they will implement the tax.
“It was only preparatory engagements that were being done and not as if anybody is implementing anything. What Parliament passes is what becomes law. In terms of the engagements we had with GRA, that was the spirit of the fact that the Bill was before Parliament. Since we had those initial conversations, there hasn’t been any implementation.”
“I have not seen the bill that has been passed, so we have not seen the date in there, so it will depend on what the GRA directs for our members to follow and configure their systems. So, there is still a lot to be done, and we are still waiting”, he said.
