On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his State of the Nation Address in Parliament stated that effective April 1, 2021, all National Identification Numbers will become Tax Identification Numbers.
Today being April 1st, the agency responsible for tax mobilization, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) will convert all National Identification Numbers into Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). In a statement issued by the Ghana Revenue Authority to the media, “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.”
This is part of the government’s effort to widen the tax net and reel in more eligible taxpayers, particularly those in the informal sector who easily evade and avoid tax payment. Thus, the number of persons registered by GRA for tax purposes will increase from 3 million to 15.5 million. The initiative is also to create a centralized pool of data sharing amongst government organizations including the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Speaking ahead of the commencement of the exercise, the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Rev. Ammishaddai Owusu Amoah said
“We are hopeful that even this year, revenue collection will increase, and even more so as the years go on, we will be able to identify more eligible taxpayers.”
Currently, officials of the National Identification Authority are stationed at 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 (RGD) 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
Eventually, the number will increase to 63 other stationed offices of the GRA to cater to all taxpayers.
