According to the association, the move is aimed at helping government build a strong manufacturing sector and aid manufacturers thrive under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Ghana Industries, Seth Twum-Akwaboah, who made the appeal during a sensitisation workshop organised by the AGI and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), said critical attention needs to be given to the manufacturing sector to grow to support the government’s industrial transformation agenda initiatives such as 1D1F, Planting for Food and Jobs, and other export development programmes.

“For most countries that really put the manufacturing agenda first, when you’re importing raw materials to further process you don’t pay taxes on the raw materials and the machines and all that because they are not for sale. We call that pre-production tax. The main tax that you would have to pay must be post production. If I import raw materials and I process and sell and make money, the more money I make the more taxes I pay.

So it is not a question of giving me exemption. It is just a matter of shifting the tax to the post production. And that is what some countries adopt to support their local manufacturers. In Ghana, we import raw materials and we are paying taxes. This is not consistent in any serious developmental agenda for industrialisation,” he said.

The one-day workshop is to discuss and educate members on some of the policies implemented by GRA and recent initiatives that impact on business.

These include, the discount values on goods and services, the GRA taxpayers’ portal, the four per cent flat rate and electronic transaction levy (E-levy).

Present at the workshop are the officials (Domestic and Customs divisions) of GRA including the Commissioner of Customs, Col Kwadwo Damoah (retd) and members of AGI led by MrTwum-Akwaboah.