Adjustment in tariffs to reflect the four percent reduction in Communications Service Tax takes effect from 15 September
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has announced that the adjustment in tariffs to reflect the four per cent reduction in the Communication Service Tax takes effect from Tuesday, 15 September 2020.
This follows the announcement by the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta that the communications service tax has been reduced from nine per cent to five per cent as part of measures put in place to lessen the burden of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ghanaians.
According to a statement issued by the Chamber, the modifications will represent “Five per cent CST charge and would be applied through a tariff adjustment on the products and services of our members, in accordance with the passage of the Communication Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 1025).”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber, Dr Ing. Edem Ashigbey noted, “The tariff adjustment programme means when our customers pay the same price they would enjoy more, which is in line with the Government’s measures in alleviating cost burden on citizens in the wake of the global pandemic.”
The statement continued that: “the smooth reconfiguration of service providers’ systems to accommodate the commercial and technical requirements, is a testament of the effective dialogue and stakeholder engagements led by the Finance Ministry as well as our supervising Ministry and agencies.”
The statement further noted that: “Mobile Network Operators will notify their customers on the completion of the modification exercise and provide further transparency on the adjusted tariffs of their products and services while offering other relevant information post usage of these services.”
The chamber assured the general public that the “mobile industry remains committed to the socio-economic development of Ghana and that remains our sole object and focus in driving and supporting Ghana’s digitisation agenda.”
Meanwhile, communication service providers in the country have begun sending customers messages to informing customers about the reduction in CST.