The Ghana card Personal Identification Number (Ghana card PIN) will replace the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of individuals issued by the GRA for tax identification purposes effective April 1, 2021.
The change is in line with the Government’s policy on the use of a unique identifier for all transactions where the identification of an individual is required.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Registrar-General’s Department (RGD) in collaboration with the National Identification Authority (NIA) announced this in a release yesterday.
According to the Authority, to ensure a seamless roll-out of the initiative, the following measures have been instituted:
- Registration officials of the National Identification Authority (NIA) are currently stationed at fourteen (14) GRA offices across the country to register individuals who do not possess a Ghana card.
The Registration officials will be at the following GRA/RGD offices: i. TIN Centre, Registrar-General’s Department, Accra ii. TIN Centre, Customs Long Room, Tema iii. Taxpayer Service Centre, Spintex Road iv. Taxpayer Service Centre, Adabraka v. Taxpayer Service Centre 1, Tema vi. Taxpayer Service Centre, Koforidua vii. Taxpayer Service Centre, Cape Coast viii. Taxpayer Service Centre, Takoradi ix. Taxpayer Service Centre, Asokwa x. Taxpayer Service Centre, Sunyani xi. Taxpayer Service Centre, Ho xii. Taxpayer Service Centre, Bolgatanga xiii. Taxpayer Service Centre, Wa Registration officials of the National Identification Authority (NIA) will eventually be stationed at sixty-three (63) other GRA locations to serve all taxpayers.
- There will be a transition period from April 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, where both the TIN and Ghana Card PIN may be used simultaneously as the unique number for tax identification purposes. After this period, it is expected that all existing TINs will be replaced with the Ghana Card PIN.
- A Self-Service portal has been made available on the GRA website (www.gra.gov.gh) for existing taxpayers who have registered and have been issued with Ghana card to link their Ghana card PIN to their TIN.
- Any taxpayer with a Ghana card must present it at any GRA office to be registered as a taxpayer.
The GRA indicated that for transactions such as the filing of returns, payment of taxes, clearing of goods, registering of businesses, the Ghana card PIN should be quoted on the documentation (Application Forms, Returns and Schedules) supporting the transactions.
It appealed for the continued cooperation of all taxpayers, individuals and organisations in the exercise.
Readers would recall President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo disclosed this in his address on the State of the Nation to Parliament in March.
The National Identification Authority (NIA), he said, has successfully registered close to 15 million Ghanaians thus it is just prudent for all these people to be enrolled onto the Tax roll.
The President also added that the Ghana Card numbers will eventually replace SSNIT Numbers and will be linked to other government or statutory services like the Birth and Death Registry, Banks Accounts, DVLA etc.
“This will increase the number of people on the SSNIT database from four million (4 million) to 15.5 million!”
“The National ID numbers will also become NHIS numbers. Very soon we will link the National ID to all SIM cards, bank accounts, Births and Death Registry, DVLA, and passports,” he said.
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MyPublisher24/Ghana