GRA rakes in GH₵68bn In 6 Months an increase of 37.6% nominal growth

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has surpassed its mid-year revenue target, mobilizing over GH₵68 billion (GH₵68,049.33 million) as of June this year.
This achievement exceeds the set target of GH₵67.9 billion (GH₵67,910.65 million) by GH₵138.69 million, representing a 0.2% increase.
Commissioner General of GRA, Ms. Julie Essiam, disclosed this at a media engagement in Accra.
She pointed out that this achievement represents a nominal growth of 37.6% over the same period last year.

GH₵145.9bn 2024 target
For the 2024 fiscal year, GRA was tasked to collect GH₵145.9 billion (GH₵145,992.38 million).
This represents a 29.1% growth over the GH₵113 billion (GH₵113,066.43 million) collected in the 2023 fiscal year.

Monthly performance breakdown
Ms. Essiam explained that for the month of June, GRA staff outperformed and exceeded the revenue target by an exceptional 21.2%—a significant increase in a single month.
In January, GRA fell below target by 12.3%, but that shortfall dropped to 6.3% in February.
In March, the Authority suffered a similar trend with an increased negative deviation of 12.7%, but GRA rebounded in April and exceeded the target by 1.9% that month.
Again, GRA exceeded the May target by 1.4%, culminating in a significant achievement of a positive increase of 21.2% in June

20% Tax not GDP ratio by the end of 2027
She committed to attaining the goal of achieving the 2024 fiscal year budget of GH₵146 billion and ultimately a Tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of 20% by the end of 2027.
Ms. Essiam pointed out that all of this was achieved against the headwinds of a very difficult first quarter, a testament to the commitment, resilience, and overall dedication of the staff of GRA.
She explained that a new top management team assumed office in April of this year, very much aware of the impact of an election year, and acknowledged the headwinds of those trends.
Already trailing from a negative first quarter, the Commissioner General said the leadership team discerned and agreed on a very focused 90-day plan to ensure that they are strategically focused and deliberate in turning the tide of a negative first quarter.
According to her, a key component of the 90-day plan on revenue was the rollout of the flagship Electronic Valued Added Tax (VAT) Invoicing System, which successfully transitioned into the first phase registration of the top 600 taxpayers accounting for 80% of VAT contributions.

614 taxpayers enrolled onto VAT Invoicing System
Ms. Essiam was happy to report that GRA exceeded its target of 600 and onboarded 614 taxpayers as of the June 30 deadline.
She described the initiative as a very important revenue enabler, as it would potentially ensure that GRA is able to gather real-time data on taxpayers, in particular retailers, for the first time in the Authority’s history.
She is optimistic that this strong momentum would keep GRA on track to migrate about 4,000 additional taxpayers onto the VAT invoicing platform.
The Commissioner General said the expected results are a streamlined and transparent VAT regime, with a subsequent increase in revenue.
Ms. Essiam noted that equally important, GRA has initiated the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme, which was successfully rolled out and has ensured that resident individuals and entities that earn incomes in Ghana voluntarily disclose any previously undisclosed financial accounts or incomes held abroad.
This measure is in accordance with the Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 896), as amended.
She was proud to confirm that Ghana is one of only five African countries, among several others, that have been approved by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to share and receive information on resident persons with incomes abroad across over 70 countries.
According to her, this innovative programme would bolster efforts to rope in more eligible taxpayers into the tax net.
Ms. Essiam said management has put in place rigorous compliance and enforcement measures to streamline domestic tax and customs administration to widen the tax net.
These include the registration of eligible taxpayers under the Upfront Payment of VAT Initiative, which she said helped to rope in previously unregistered taxpayers.

176,524 taxpayers registered
As of June 30, 2024, the Commissioner General said GRA has registered 176,524 taxpayers against a target of 144,000 taxpayers.
She noted that the Upfront VAT initiative was introduced in June 2023 to ensure that businesses that import taxable goods in commercial quantities are registered for VAT, saying this has yielded very good results and helped streamline VAT administration.
Ms. Essiam touched on the strategic plan which has also enabled key deliverables aimed at transitioning GRA from an enforcement-centered approach to a collaborative partner approach.
She announced that in August, GRA would conduct training programmes in customer experience approaches and ethical behaviors, all aimed at improving relationships with taxpayers.
She is confident that when GRA constantly engages taxpayers on issues that bother them, especially regarding rights and obligations, tax processes, tax audits, and objections and tax reliefs, the Authority would win their trust and confidence.
Along the same lines, Ms. Essiam said GRA has designated the month of August as Tax Education Month and would be embarking on tax dialogues, radio and TV discussions, market outreaches, and collaborations with religious and faith-based organizations.
She announced a historic partnership with the Methodist Church of Ghana—a partnership that leverages biblical teachings to raise awareness of the civic responsibility and obligation of citizens in paying taxes.
Under the partnership, the Methodist Church is achieving this by incorporating the teachings into the Ministry’s “Weekly Bible Lessons” handbook.
The Commissioner General explained that GRA intends to leverage this remarkable framework across faith organizations and plans to engage the Ghana Muslim Council, with an initial visit to the National Chief Imam.
Ms. Essiam solicited the support of the media to share information with the public.
She committed to building on the achievements in the first six months and driving further enhancements in operations while prioritizing the welfare of staff and ensuring that taxpayers operate within a transparent tax regime that ultimately serves the nation’s best interests.
She pledged to continue to focus on transformation initiatives to optimize their platform for effective revenue mobilization.
She listed some of the priority areas for tax reform as administrative and legal reforms geared to significantly enhancing revenue mobilization.
These reforms are intended to broaden the tax base, minimize tax avoidance, and ensure a progressive tax system.
She expressed gratitude to key individuals including the Minister for Finance, Dr. Mohamed Amin Adam, and Joe Ghartey, Board Chairman of GRA, as well as taxpayers for their support.