The implementation of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) commences today, as announced by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) imposing a rate of 1.5% on all electronic transactions above GH¢100.00 starting Sunday 1 May 2022.The E-Levy is a Levy on all electronic transfers of money apart from those excluded by law with the following entities tasked with the responsible for charging the Levy:
- Mobile Money providers like MTN Momo, Vodafone Cash, AirtelTigo Money, Zeepay, GCB G-Money and Yup Ghana, etc.
- Payment Service Providers (PSPs). They include eTranzact, JuniPay, Korba, Nsano etc.
- Banks like Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), etc.
- Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDIs) such as rural and community banks and savings and loans companies, finance houses etc.
- Other Financial Institutions prescribed by Regulations
GRA listed the following transfers under the E_Levy:
- Mobile money transfers done between wallets on the same electronic money issuer– For example sending money from your MTN Momo wallet to another person’s MTN Momo wallet.
- Transfers from a wallet on one electronic money issuer to a recipient on another electronic money issuer – For example sending money from your Vodafone Cash wallet to another person’s AirtelTigo wallet.
- Transfers from bank accounts to mobile money wallets: For example, Kofi transfers money from his CBG bank account to Ama’s G-Money wallet.
- Transfers from mobile money wallets to bank accounts: For example, Esi transfers money from her Zeepay wallet to Yayra’s bank account.
- Bank transfers on an instant pay digital platform or application which originates from a bank account belonging to an individual: For example, Kwame transferring money from his ADB account using the ADB app to Akua’s National Investment Bank account.
The following transfers are excluded from the Levy:
- Cumulative transfer of GHS 100 per day made by the same person using mobile money:Everyone will be able to send up to GHS100 a day without paying the Levy.
- Transfer between accounts owned by the same person: If you are sending money to your own account, you will not be charged the E-Levy provided your bank or mobile money accounts are linked with your Ghana Card PIN. For example, a transfer from Naa’s AirtelTigo wallet to her MTN wallet or from her Fidelity bank account to her Prudential bank account or from her CalBank savings account to her current or investment account will not attract the Levy because Naa has linked all accounts with her Ghana Card.
- Transfers for the payment of taxes, fees, and charges: Any payment of taxes, fees or charges made using the Ghana.gov platform or other designated Government of Ghana payment systems will not attract the Levy.
- Electronic Clearing of Cheques: Clearing of cheques by banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions such as Savings and Loans companies, etc. will not attract the Levy.
- Specified Merchant Payments: Transfers made through an electronic payment service (mobile money, bank application, FinTech platform, etc.) to a commercial establishment which is registered with the Ghana Revenue Authority for the purposes of Income Tax or Value Added Tax are excluded.
- Transfers among principal, agent, and master-agent accounts: To avoid charging the Levy multiple times, transfers among principal, agent, and master-agent are excluded from the Levy.