E-Levy Bill Passage: Minority files stay of execution at Supreme Court
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has filed a stay of execution at the Supreme Court over the passage of the E-Levy by Parliament.
According to the Minority, the bill hasn’t been passed contrary to claims by the Majority.
The Minority argues that they staged a walkout hence Parliament could not have passed the bill without forming a quorum.
Per Article 104(1) of the 1992 constitution, a quorum can only be formed by at least half of the 275 members of Parliament.
With Adwoa Safo, the Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya absent, the number of Parliamentarians in the House after the Minority walked out, was not up to the 137.5 members needed to form a quorum.
The stay of execution prevents President Akufo-Addo from signing the E-Levy bill into law.
E-Levy bill passed; GRA begins collection on April 1
Parliament has passed the controversial electronic bill (E-Levy).
The bill was passed on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
During its passage, the Minority Caucus was not in Parliament as the Minority bench had earlier staged a walkout.
The decision to pass the bill was reached after the Consideration Stage was completed by a Majority-sided House.
President Akufo-Addo is expected to assent to the bill for its implementation.
The E-Levy since its announcement by the Finance Minister on November 17, 2021 during his presentation of the 2022 Budget, has generated a lot of heated debate and controversy among the public.
Majority of Ghanaians along with the Minority Caucus in Parliament have mounted a spirited opposition against the passage of the E-Levy arguing that it is retrogressive and would adversely impact the government’s own financial inclusion agenda.
With its passage, the tax is expected to rake in a little over GHS 6bn this year.
Already, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has announced that it has implemented systems and is ready to mobilise the expected revenue from the E-Levy when passed.
Staring Friday, April 1, 2022, the following are the transactions to be affected by the E-Levy:
- 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
The following transactions will not be affected
- 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 principal, master agent and agent’s accounts
