The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Anthony Sarpong, has dismissed claims that the Publican AI system has led to hidden charges or new levies at the ports, insisting that no new taxes have been introduced without parliamentary approval.
“No institution or government agency can impose a tax or levy without parliamentary approval,” he said firmly. “There is no shred of evidence that we introduced any new charge.”
He revealed that a five-year internal review uncovered significant revenue leakages in the import system.
“We found that over US$31 billion worth of goods left the country without corresponding declared value,” he disclosed. “The tax impact was in excess of US$11 billion.”
He said the Publican AI system was introduced to plug such gaps and improve compliance, not to increase taxes.
“Government is not imposing any tax, fee, or levy in this respect,” he said.
Mr Sarpong also pushed back against claims of delays at the ports caused by the system.
“If anything at all, it should fast-track the process,” he said. “We are not seeing delays caused by the AI. The system actually improves efficiency.”
He added that current data shows high compliance rates among import declarations.
“About 75 per cent of declarations are accepted without issue. Only about 25 per cent are flagged for review,” he said.
