MTN Ghana has announced a temporary blackout of airtime and data sales scheduled for Friday, January 2, 2026, as the company prepares its systems for the implementation of new VAT tariffs.
In a notice to customers, the telecom giant said the suspension is necessary to allow for technical adjustments that will ensure compliance with the updated tax regime.
During the period, customers may experience an inability to purchase airtime or data bundles across all sales channels.
The downtime is a direct response to the implementation of the new National Value Added Tax (VAT) Reform Tariffs, which will recalibrate the pricing structures of telecommunications services nationwide.
MTN assured subscribers that the interruption would be brief and that normal services would resume once the system updates were completed.
Existing airtime balances and data bundles will not be affected by the blackout.
To facilitate a smooth transition to the revised tax regime, MTN’s technical teams will carry out a system-wide update in the early hours of Friday. The maintenance window has been deliberately scheduled overnight to reduce disruption to daytime economic activity.
“There is a scheduled maintenance planned for January 2, 2026, from 12:00 am to 04:00 am in preparation for the new VAT reform tariffs,” the company stated in a public announcement.
Throughout the four-hour maintenance period, platforms used to process retail transactions will be temporarily unavailable.
MTN clearly outlined the restrictions customers should expect, noting that: “During this period, airtime and data bundle purchases will not be possible.”
The service interruption will affect all digital and physical recharge channels, including:
Mobile Money (170#) top-ups
myMTN App purchases
Electronic Voucher Distributors (EVD)
Third-party banking applications
Although the notice focused on the suspension of new airtime and data purchases, it did not indicate that ongoing voice calls or existing data bundles would be disconnected.
Customers are, however, advised that real-time balance updates and Mashup bundle renewals may be temporarily unavailable and are expected to resume once systems are fully restored at 4:00 am.
The company apologised for any inconvenience the temporary suspension may cause and encouraged customers to plan by purchasing airtime and data before January 2.
The blackout forms part of industry-wide preparations by telecom operators to align their billing systems with government-approved VAT changes.
