Importers to obtain Tax Payer Identification Number - Official
Ghana Privatisation Bill to go to Parliament - Mahama
Shares mark time at the exchange
VAT service imposes over ’4 billion penalty on defaulting companies
Importers to obtain Tax Payer Identification Number - Official
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April 99
Importers and clearing agents have three days more to register for the Tax Payer Identification Number (TIN) that would enable them undertake business transactions in the country, a senior official of the Ministry of Finance warned on Wednesday.
Mr Kofi Opoku-Manu, Chief Director, said importers and clearing agents would find it impossible to transact business without TIN that is intended to create transparency and uniformity in customs procedures.
TIN is a business identification number that would enable businesses to be identified by all revenue collecting agencies. It forms part of measures taken by the government to reform customs administration in the country.
Mr Opoku-Manu, who was speaking at a two-day seminar on World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on customs valuation, noted that valuation of goods has always been an essential component of modern tariff systems. However, changes in the systems have become a major obstacle to international trade.
"Government recognising the importance of standardising valuation of goods for customs purposes therefore has acceded to the WTO agreement on valuation and has committed itself to the objectives."
Articles in the agreement to be implemented by January One next year, would bring about a uniform system of customs valuation to be applied by virtually all trading countries and would provide reliability of world trade statistics for economic comparisons.
It would also bring about fairness, neutrality and transparency which are also the basis for government putting in place new administrative measures such as the introduction of TIN.
The seminar is being organised by the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) for its staff and partners made up of clearing agents, importers, members of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and traders' union.
The resource persons are WTO officials. It is on the theme: "The role of CEPS in facilitating legitimate trade."
Mr Opoku-Manu said the major benefits of the WTO customs agreement would be the achievement by member countries of simplified customs procedures and expeditious clearance of goods as well as the ability to bring customs administrations closer to trading institutions.
He said topics to be treated, which include the determination of customs values of imported goods, options to be adopted where values cannot be determined and the formal declaration of values, would help assist officials in their work.
Nii Okine Adjei, Commissioner of CEPS, said for a long time, valuation of imported goods for duty purposes has created some controversy between CEPS and the trading public.
"For example, whereas customs authorities have had cause to reject importers' invoice for customs purposes, the importers or their agents do not hesitate to question the correctness of the commissioner's values used by CEPS."
The need for an effective and efficient harmonisation of values has therefore become paramount in customs transactions.
The Commissioner emphasised that with the year 2000 deadline for the implementation fast approaching, CEPS is leaving no stone unturned to ensure a smooth transition.
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Ghana Privatisation Bill to go to Parliament - Mahama
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April 99
A draft of the Ghana Privatisation Trust Bill, is to be presented to Parliament, Mr John Mahama, Minister of Communications, announced on Wednesday at a post-cabinet briefing at the Castle, Osu.
The bill will seek to create a Trust that will manage the Government's minority shares in enterprises, which have been or are being privatised under the divestiture programme.
The shares are to be prepared and packaged for sale to workers of the enterprises, institutional investors and the general public.
"It was noted that the Privatisation Trust will ensure greater participation of the wider Ghanaian public," he said, adding this will address the foreign domination of the divestiture programme.
The Trust would have a board of trustees and secretariat headed by an Executive Secretary.Mr Mahama said Cabinet approved for confirmation by Parliament a concessional development credit agreement with the International Development Association (IDA) for 180 million dollars.
"It will be used in reforms to enhance the efficiency of the cocoa industry, including ensuring further improvements in producer prices, as well as banking and energy sector reform."
The amount is also to support the budget in the Structural Adjustment Reform Programme.
Payment is to be over 40 years with a 10-year moratorium, with commitment and service charges totalling 1.25 per cent.
Mr Mahama said Cabinet recommended for ratification of Parliament a concessional loan of 7.7 million dollars from Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) for the Tamale Storm Water drainage Project.
The repayment period is 14 years at an interest rate of three per cent per annum, with a four-year grace period.
The project, which will complement the reconstruction of roads in Tamale, will provide primary storm drains involving 13.4 kilometres of open concrete channels and six kilometres of closed drains to prevent flooding.
The Bui Development Committee has been given approval to negotiate and sign the Memorandum of Understanding with a British consortium on the development of the Bui Hydro-Electric Power Project for private sector funding.
Out of the nine companies, which responded to build the dam, Brown and Root Consortium was ranked the highest bidder because of its "impressive background in the energy, construction and finance and its responsiveness to Ghana's needs.", Mr Mahaama said.
Cabinet has also approved the Environmental Sanitation Policy presented by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.
A Cabinet Social Sector Committee has therefore called for the establishment of the National Environmental Sanitation Policy Co-ordinating Committee to accelerate the implementation of the policy.
A six million-dollar loan from KFW, the German Reconstruction and Development Bank, was approved to be used in the replacement of obsolete switch gear and other equipment at electricity sub-stations in Accra and Kumasi to improve energy distribution.
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Shares mark time at the exchange
Accra (Greater Accra), 29th April 99
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) All-Share Index for the second time running marked time at the close of Wednesday's trading as investors continued to show little interest in the market.
The main market index (All-Share index) registered no change and remained at 820.63. Market capitalisation also marked time at 3,323.39 billion cedis and none of the listed equities registered any price change.
Offers and bids were low at 2.2 million and 437,960 shares, down from 2.7 million and 557,100 shares recorded on Monday.
The following are the last prices of listed equities in cedis:
ABL 650
AGC 18,700
ALW 2,800
BAT 400
CFAO 56
EIC 2,010
FML 1,250
GBL 1,900
GCB 1,000
GGL 910
HFC 750
MGL 225
MLC 245
MOGL 16,350
PAF 348
PZ 850
SCB 24,000
SSB 1,690
UNIL 1,750
UTC-E 125
NAT 51
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VAT service imposes over ’4 billion penalty on defaulting companies
Accra (Greater Accra), 29th April 99
The VAT service has issued notices imposing a penalty of one million cedis on each VAT-registered business which failed to submit the February returns by March 31.
A release issued in Accra on Wednesday said in all, penalty notices have been issued to 4,294 businesses.
The VAT Act 1998 (Act 546) obliges every VAT-registered business to file a VAT return on a prescribed form by the last working day of the month following the one in respect of which the return is being submitted.
It also imposes penalties for failure to submit returns by the due date.
The release said as part of the implementation strategy of affording businesses ample opportunity for learning to come to grips with the compliance requirements of the VAT law, the VAT Service did not activate the penalties for late submission of returns in respect of January.
It, however, warned that failure to submit March returns would attract the one million cedis penalty in addition to a daily penalty of 5,000 cedis for each day that the non-submission of returns continues beyond the due date.
"Beyond the due date for submission of April returns, interest on outstanding tax liabilities will be charged in addition to the two types of pecuniary penalties mentioned."
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