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Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, has dismissed widespread reports suggesting that disagreements between the GRA and the National Identification Authority (NIA) over alleged debts have disrupted the clearance of goods at the country’s ports.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Thursday, August 21, Mr Sarpong described such claims as misleading and inaccurate, insisting that port operations remain smooth and unaffected.
“What also came out was the negative or the incorrect news to say that because NIA has taken that action, people cannot clear their stations. As we speak right now, it is not an accurate account,” Mr Sarpong stressed.
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He clarified that most importers operate with business Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) generated by GRA, not the Ghana Card, making it impossible for a standoff with the NIA to disrupt clearance processes.
“We don’t rely on the Ghana Card. And therefore, it couldn’t have been that if you don’t have your Ghana Card in use, you cannot import,” he assured.
Mr Sarpong further noted that the Ghana Card is validated only once for existing taxpayers and not on a continuous basis, thereby eliminating the risk of disruptions.
The GRA boss categorically stated that the Authority has not received any single complaint from importers regarding clearance delays linked to the dispute.
“I want to use this medium to assure all importers that one, that is not the situation. We have not had a single complaint from any importer. The general public should be assured that that is not the situation. And then we are also working with NIA to resolve the matter,” he said.
Mr Sarpong admitted that the dispute stems from legacy arrangements between the two institutions before 2025. Under these arrangements, the GRA provided its nationwide offices for NIA’s operations without charge, while NIA, in turn, expected payments for providing GRA with data.
“These arrangements were not conclusive,” he noted, adding that the matter is being handled at the leadership level.
The GRA Commissioner-General revealed that he had already engaged the NIA Director-General in discussions to amicably resolve the issue, expressing surprise that the matter was instead aired publicly.
“As far as the demand for debt is concerned, when I took over, I engaged the Director-General of NIA. We met here in the GRA offices, and we discussed the matter, and we agreed that as leaders, we need to look at the issues and resolve them subsequently. So it was a huge surprise to hear our sister agency trying to take the matter to the media and solve it there,” Mr Sarpong said.
Mr Sarpong emphasised that disputes between government institutions must not be allowed to undermine public service delivery.
“It’s important to recognise that when you have problems, you cannot solve it all in the media. It’s a matter that we need to sit, to dialogue, to discuss in a spirit of collaborationand solve it,” he stated.
He assured the public that GRA has extended a “professional hand of cooperation” to NIA to find a resolution, stressing that both agencies share a duty to safeguard essential services.
“Our actions should not lead to destabilising service to the people or disturbing our core mandate. So we are committed to working with NIA, and we call upon them to extend and take on the hand that we have extended, and let us resolve the matter and deal with it,” he concluded.
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