'All deducted E-Levy must be refunded immediately' – GRA warns charging entities

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued a directive. All financial institutions and mobile money operators must refund E-Levy deductions. This applies to transactions from April 2, 2025, onward.

This order follows the abolition of the 1% Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy). President John Mahama signed the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075) and its amendment, Act 1089.

The E-Levy was controversial since its introduction but is now officially scrapped. Ghanaians are celebrating this removal. However, the GRA insists that wrongful deductions must be refunded immediately.

Institutions failing to process refunds will face sanctions. The GRA has instructed all charging entities to stop applying the E-Levy charge right away. They must expedite refunds for any deductions made after April 2, 2025.

Additionally, they need to report all processed refunds to the GRA for accountability. Edward Apenteng Gyamerah, Commissioner of Domestic Tax Revenue Division, warned about compliance checks. These checks will ensure no institution retains unlawfully deducted funds.

He stated that failure to comply is an offense and will lead to legal sanctions. To prevent further deductions, the GRA has reconfigured its system. From April 2, 2025, there should be no E-Levy on any electronic transactions.

Customers can expect immediate refunds for wrongful deductions. Charging entities must also settle outstanding E-Levy payments for transactions before April 2.

The GRA warns of severe penalties for non-compliance with these directives. Institutions must keep electronic transfer records for at least six years as per Section 27(3) of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915).

They are required to continue posting electronic transactions until further notice and follow strict reporting guidelines set by the GRA. With the abolition of the E-Levy in effect, delays in processing refunds will not be tolerated.

The GRA has established an E-Levy Technical Support Team for compliance assistance but emphasizes there will be no excuses. The Authority encourages anyone noticing wrongful deductions to report them immediately to their service provider and demand a refund.

Any failure to refund deducted funds should be reported directly to the GRA.