As Parliament awaits the President’s assent to move on with the E-Levy legislation, here is a list of transactions to be affected and exempted when the implementation finally begins.
Transactions E-Levy will cover
- Mobile money transfers between accounts on the same electronic money issuer (EMI)
- Mobile money transfers from an account on one EMI to a recipient on another EMI
- Transfers from bank accounts to mobile money accounts
- Transfer from mobile money accounts to bank accounts
- Bank transfers on a digital platform or application which originate from a bank account belonging to an individual to another individual
Transactions E-Levy will NOT cover
The Finance Ministry has also highlighted some scenarios where the E-Levy will not apply. They are;
- Cumulative transfers of GHC100 per day made by the same person
- Transfers between accounts owned by the same person
- Transfers for the payment of taxes, fees, and charges on the Ghana.gov platform
- Electronic clearing of cheques
- Specified merchant payments (that is, payments to commercial establishments registered with the GRA for income tax and VAT purposes)
- Transfers between the principal, master agent, and agent’s accounts
The Majority in Parliament approved the E-Levy after the Minority walked out saying the tax is a tool to exacerbate the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian.
The Bill was adopted at a reduced rate of 1.5% from the initial 1.75%.
The tax, which has become a subject of debate among Ghanaians, is expected to rake in close to ¢6 billion in tax revenue for the country.
But the Minority has given an indication to contest the decision at the Supreme Court.
“Even as we prepare to challenge the matter in the Supreme Court, a judicial determination has been made on Article 104 of the Constitution. Clear cut. Anything to the contrary is a sin to Article 104 of the 1992 Constitution and the ruling of the Supreme Court,” he said on Tuesday.
Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu insists that the parliamentary procedure was breached in the lead-up to the passage.
In a press conference following the Bill’s approval, Mr. Iddrisu explained that there was no quorum in the House that supervised it.
For this reason, the NDC MPs have declared the vote null and void.
Therefore, “those of you who are celebrating with them that E-Levy has been passed and accordingly passed, your excitement will be short-lived.”
He said the latest happening goes to vindicate their stance that the ruling on quorum was absurd.
“It means that you needed at least 138 for any decision. Whether on the amendment, whether on third reading or during the consideration stage that the Constitution so elaborately provides for. So we didn’t want to associate with it.”
According to the MP, the NDC has articulated its resolve against the levy and will follow it through.
“At the level of the principle, we shared with the Ghanaian people our rejection and rejection of the E-Levy. We stand same at the same level”, he stressed.
