Tax Compliance During Ghana's COVID Lockdown
It is a pandemic that has slowed down almost all economies. COVID-19 has brought most countries to a standstill with more than a million infections worldwide and over seventy thousand lives lost.
Senyo Bissabah
18 Mar 2020
It is a pandemic that has slowed down almost all economies. COVID-19 has brought most countries to a standstill with more than a million infections worldwide and over seventy thousand lives lost.
In trying to reduce the spread of the virus, the Ghana government announced a partial lockdown. Subsequently, the lockdown has been extended with no indication of when the restrictions will abate. As a result, businesses carrying out essential services will remain open. However, all other businesses are to be closed.
The Ghana revenue authority has not stated that tax obligations are on hold. The GRA has rather put out communication encouraging businesses to make payments through online channels and to avoid going to their offices which are closed.
This means that, taxpayer obligations still hold. Non-compliance may therefore lead to penalties and interests. Our aim is to assist you during this period to fulfil your tax obligations.
Option available to you
The only option that currently exists for filing and payment of taxes is through email and bank transfer.
Email filing
Each local office that has been closed should have sent out correspondence. This should have detailed what email addresses to send your returns to. In the absence of the above, use the link below to download that information for your tax office.
List of GRA contact details and bank account information
General Contact details
Email: info@gra.gov.gh
Toll free number: 0800 900 102
WhatsApp: 0552990000
Hotlines: 0553280229 or 0505854350
Submission of Annual returns
For most companies, their financial year end date is 31st December. This means that annual returns which includes audited financial statements were originally due for submission on the 30th April 2020. However, this has been extended to 30th June 2020.
Other information to consider
- File a nil return if you have no transactions for VAT.
- If you are unable to pay salaries during this period, write a letter to inform SSNIT and GRA.
- The relief for health workers announced by the president does not take retrospective effect. This therefore should not affect your filing for March returns.
- Kindly take extra steps to verify any bank account details you receive before making any payments.
- Check out our other article on filing annual returns here
Conclusion
As ever, we are available if needed to help you stay tax compliant. You can get in touch with any of the team here for further information. We urge you to observe the safety precautions and stay home
