GRA orders refund of post-April 2 E-levy deductions

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has instructed all Charging Entities to refund any E-Levy deductions made after April 2, 2025, when the levy was officially abolished. This directive follows reports that some customers were still being charged despite the cessation of the tax.

In an official statement, the GRA emphasized that all Charging Entities must implement a swift and transparent refund process while maintaining records of all reimbursements. Additionally, entities are required to submit reports on the processed refunds to the Authority for monitoring and compliance.

The move comes after President John Mahama signed into law the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075) and its Amendment Act, 2022 (Act 1089), officially scrapping the 1% E-Levy as of April 2. Following the enactment, the GRA issued formal authorization for all platforms to configure their systems to a “no charge” setting, ensuring that customers are not erroneously billed.

The Authority has urged affected individuals to review their transactions and report any wrongful deductions to their service providers for immediate rectification.

Below is the full statement from the GRA…

We wish to inform you of that the President of the Republic of Ghana has assented to the Electronic Transfer Levy Act, 2022 (Act 1075) and the Electronic Transfer Levy (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1089) bill, which abolishes the 1% E-Levy.

This is expected to take effect from today 2nd April 2025.

In accordance with our previous communication regarding implementation guidelines, this letter serves as formal authorization for you to proceed with the deployment of the “no charge” configuration on your platforms.

We wish to communicate the following guidelines:
1. The GRA Electronic Transfer Levy Management and Assurance System (ELMAS) will automatically return a “no charge” on all transactions posted to it by entities from midnight.

2. Charging Entities must cease applying the 1% E-Levy from midnight on all their channels.

3. Charging Entities must immediately process refunds for any E-Levy amounts deducted from customers effective today 2nd April 2025. Entities are to establish an expedited refund process to handle such cases promptly and maintain proper documentation of all refunds processed. Reports of such refunds must be submitted to GRA.

4. Charging Entities are to take the necessary steps to file and pay all outstanding E- Levy charged and collected on all transactions that occurred before 2nd April 2025.