The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has moved to address concerns over the cost of digital subscriptions, assuring consumers that its new Value Added Tax (VAT) collection system will not add another 20% charge to services already collecting the tax.
Commissioner-General Anthony Kwasi Sarpong said the reform is designed to improve the collection and accounting of existing taxes rather than introduce an additional financial burden on subscribers.
During a discussion on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, about VAT for Netflix, Spotify and other digital services, he explained that customers using platforms already charging the applicable tax should not see their prices increase because of the new system.
“So this system is not adding another 20 per cent to what you already pay. It is already embedded, and consumers are paying,” he said.
Mr Sarpong disclosed that the GRA currently receives VAT payments from about 92 foreign service providers. He said subscribers to these platforms should not experience any price changes resulting from the revised collection process.
“Nothing will change in terms of pricing from 92 merchants or entities,” he assured.
However, the Commissioner-General revealed that the Authority had identified approximately 100 other foreign providers that were not charging VAT. These companies will be brought into the tax collection system gradually, meaning customers using previously untaxed services could be affected once the applicable taxes are introduced.
His assurance on stable prices, therefore, applies specifically to providers that already include the relevant taxes in their charges.
Mr Sarpong said the existing arrangement depends largely on foreign digital service providers declaring their transactions and transferring the VAT collected from customers in Ghana to the GRA.
While the system allows the Authority to receive tax payments from participating companies, it also limits its ability to independently establish the volume and value of transactions conducted by Ghanaian consumers.
The new framework is intended to give the GRA greater visibility over these transactions by using technology to identify and separate the government’s share at the point of payment.
Using Netflix as an example, Mr Sarpong explained that the system would identify the tax component of a qualifying payment, direct that amount to the government and transfer the balance to the service provider.
“We are using technology to smartly account for and collect the component that belongs to the government of Ghana,” he said.
The arrangement is also expected to provide the GRA with clearer information on the number of transactions processed, their monetary value and the corresponding tax obligations. This would reduce the Authority’s dependence on figures submitted by foreign companies.
The explanation follows the introduction of the GRA’s Real-Time VAT framework for qualifying cross-border digital services.
In an earlier report, Elsie Appau-Klu, Technical Advisor to the Commissioner-General, said the framework enables the collection of existing VAT at the point of payment through participating financial institutions.
The combined 20% charge consists of 15% VAT, a 2.5% National Health Insurance Levy and a 2.5% GETFund Levy.
The framework applies to electronically supplied services provided by non-resident companies and paid for through Ghana-issued payment instruments. These include bank cards, mobile money accounts and digital wallets.
Covered services include streaming subscriptions, cloud computing, online gaming and digital advertising.
Mr Sarpong stressed that the collection process would not be restricted to customers paying with bank cards, noting that other digital payment channels would also fall within its scope when qualifying transactions pass through the system.
“So it’s not only for a card,” he said.
The clarification means that the collection framework extends to eligible digital service payments made through different supported payment methods, rather than being limited to conventional card transactions.
Mr Sarpong also distinguished between digital services and physical products purchased from international online marketplaces such as Amazon and Alibaba.
He said the initial implementation focuses on electronically supplied services, while imported goods already pass through Ghana’s border tax assessment procedures, where the applicable duties and VAT are determined.
“So it is not going to affect goods or products, tangible products at the moment,” he stressed.
Although the GRA could consider extending the arrangement to physical goods in the future, Mr Sarpong made it clear that tangible products are not covered by the current rollout.
The Authority’s immediate focus is therefore on improving tax collection from cross-border digital services, closing gaps involving providers that have not been charging VAT and gaining a clearer picture of transactions taking place within Ghana’s digital economy.
