Excise Tax Stamp Act Act 873
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
ISection
1.
Establishment and application of Excise Tax Stamp
2.
Goods to which Excise Tax Stamp is to be affixed
3.
Features and design of Excise Tax Stamp
4.
Registration
5.
Register
6.
Procurement of Excise Tax Stamps
7.
Supply and distribution of Excise Tax Stamps
8.
Affixing of Excise Tax Stamp
9.
Time and place of affixing the Excise Tax Stamp
10.
Delivery of goods for home consumption
11.
Record keeping
12.
Returns to be submitted
13.
Audit
14.
Monitoring and enforcement
15.
Failure to affix Excise Tax Stamp
16.
Falsification, alteration and counterfeiting of
Excise Tax Stamp
17.
Excise Tax Stamp Manuals
18.
Regulations
19.
Interpretation
20.
Transitional provisions
SCHEDULE
THE EIGHT HUNDRED AND
SEVENTY-THIRD ACT
OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
ENTITLED
EXCISE TAX STAMP ACT, 2013,
ACT 873
AN ACT to provide for Excise Tax Stamp and the
affixing of Excise Tax Stamp on excisable products
and for related matters.
DATE OF ASSENT: 31st January, 2014.
PASSED by Parliament and assented to by the
President:
Establishment and application of Excise Tax Stamp
1.(1)
There is established by this Act an Excise Tax
Stamp.
(2) The Excise Tax Stamp shall, subject to section
3, be
(a)
in the form and of the nature and have the features
deter- mined by the Ghana Revenue Authority; and
(b)
issued by the Ghana Revenue Authority.
(3) The Excise Tax Stamp shall, in accordance with
the Act, be affixed on
(a)
the specified excisable goods which are
(i) manufactured in this country, or
(ii) imported into this country, or
(b)
other goods prescribed by the Minister.
Goods to which Excise Tax Stamp is to be affixed
2. The Excise Tax Stamp shall be affixed on the
following class of goods:
(a)
cigarettes and other tobacco products;
(b)
alcoholic beverages whether bottled, canned,
contained in kegs for sale or packaged in any other
form;
(c) non-alcoholic carbonated beverages whether
bottled, canned or packaged in any other form;
(d)
bottled water; and
(e)
any other excisable product prescribed by the
Minister.
Features and design of Excise Tax Stamp
3. (1) The Excise Tax Stamp shall have overt, covert
and forensic features.
(2) There shall be different designs of the Excise
Tax Stamp to distinguish between
(a)
various product categories; and
(b)
locally manufactured and imported products.
Registration
4. (1) A person who intends to manufacture or import
goods for which an Excise Tax Stamp is required to
be affixed shall apply in writing to the Authority
to be registered.
(2) An applicant qualifies to be registered if the
applicant is a manufacturer or trader with a valid
Tax Identification Number (TIN).
(3) A foreign manufacturer who supplies goods to an
importer in this country shall apply in writing as
set out in Form A of the Schedule to the Authority
to be registered if
(a)
the goods require Excise Tax Stamps to be affixed to
them;
(b)
the importer gives notice to the Authority that the
importer intends the foreign manufacturer to affix
the Excise Tax Stamp at the point of origin of the
goods; and
(c)
the foreign manufacturer accepts to receive and
affix the Excise Tax Stamp to the goods before they
are exported.
(4) The Authority shall register a foreign
manufacturer if the Authority is satisfied that that
foreign manufacturer will comply with this Act
regarding affixing the Excise Tax Stamp.
(5) The Authority shall cancel the registration of
a registered foreign manufacturer that fails to
comply with this Act.
(6) An application for registration shall be
(a)
in duplicate and as set out in Form A of the
Schedule, or
(b)
in any other manner determined by the Authority that
provides the information required in Form A of the
Schedule.
Register
5. The Authority shall keep and maintain a register
of manufacturers and importers of the category of
goods to which an Excise Tax Stamp is required to be
affixed.
Procurement of Excise Tax Stamps
6. (1) An Excise Tax Stamp shall be purchased from
the Authority on request.
(2) A request to purchase an Excise Tax Stamp shall
be made through the Excise Tax Stamp Portal to the
Authority.
(3) The manufacturer or importer that requires the
Stamp shall be responsible for the cost of the
Excise Tax Stamp but the cost may be subsidised as
the Minister may determine.
(4) Payment for the supply of the Stamp shall be
made to the Authority in the mode prescribed by the
Minister.
Supply and distribution of Excise Tax Stamps
7. (1) The Authority shall supply the approved
category and quantity of Stamps to a manufacturer or
an importer of goods after approval by the
Commissioner-General.
(2) An importer may, in the case of imported goods,
put in a request through the Excise Tax Stamp Portal
to the Commissioner- General to authorise that
importer to make a direct supply of the Excise Tax
Stamps to a foreign manufacturer of the goods to be
imported.
(3) The Commissioner-General may approve the supply
of Excise Tax Stamps to a manufacturer outside Ghana
only if the Commissioner- General is satisfied that
that manufacturer is registered and that the payment
for the Excise Tax Stamp supplied will be made when
due.
(4) The Authority shall
(a)
sell the Excise Tax Stamps at the port of entry to a
person who imports goods occasionally, and
(b)
supervise the affixing of the Excise Tax Stamps.
(5) The Commissioner-General may approve the supply
and affixing of the Excise Tax Stamp in a bonded
warehouse or any premises considered appropriate for
the security of both the goods and revenue derived
from the sale of the Stamp.
Affixing of ExciseTax Stamp
8.(1)
An Excise.Tax Stamp shall be affixed on each product
unit,
(2) An Excise Tax Stamp shall be affixed on a
product unit in a manner that ensures that the Stamp
will be broken or will be rendered unusable when the
product unit is opened.
Time and place of affixing the Excise Tax Stamp
9.(1)
Imported goods that are required to have the Excise
Tax Stamp affixed to them shall have the Stamp
affixed to them by the authorised manufacturer of
the importer or at the point of entry in a specified
facility, or place or premises approved by the
Commissioner-General.
(2) A registered foreign manufacturer shall affix an
Excise Tax Stamp on each product unit of goods that
require the Excise Tax Stamp before the shipment to
Ghana of the product unit from the country of origin
.
(3) A manufacturer in Ghana shall affix the Excise
Tax Stamp on each product unit of goods that require
the Excise Tax Stamp before the product unit is
delivered out of the factory,
Delivery of goods for home consumption
10.(1)
Goods which require the Excise Tax Stamp to be
affixed to them shall not be put on sale or released
into the channels of tr .ide in the country unless
the Excise Tax Stamp is affixed to the goods,
(2) Overstayed or seized goods which require the
Excise Tax Stamp to be affixed to them and which are
auctioned or disposed of by sale shall have the
Excise Tax Stamp affixed to them.
(3) Goods which require the Excise Tax Stamp to be
affixed to them and which are purchased from duty
free shops for home consumption shall have the
Excise Tax Stamp affixed to them.
Record keeping
11. (1) An importer who supplies the Excise Tax
Stamp to a foreign manufacturer of goods to be
exported to the importer, shall notify the Authority
in writing of each supply of the approved quantity
of Excise Tax Stamps to the foreign manufacturer.
(2) The Authority shall maintain a record of Excise
Tax Stamps issued by an importer to a foreign
manufacturer.
(3) A manufacturer of goods which
require an Excise Tax Stamp to be affixed to them
shall maintain records on a monthly basis of
(a) Excise Tax Stamps received;
(b)
Excise Tax Stamps affixed on product units; and
(c)
the balance in stock of Excise Tax Stamps.
Returns to be submitted
12. (1) A person who imports goods from a foreign
manufacturer registered for the purposes of the
Excise Tax Stamp and a local manufacturer of goods
which require an Excise Tax Stamp to be affixed to
them, shall submit to the Commissioner-General, not
later than the twentieth day of the month following
the month to which the report relates, a monthly
reconciliation statement or returns in the manner
prescribed by the Minister and that shows
(a)
the Stamps in stock on the last day of the previous
month and which have been brought forward for use
during the month;
(b)
the summary of Stamps received during the month;
(c)
the Stamps applied during the month;
(d)
the stock balance of Stamps at the end of the month;
and
(e)
the Stamps spoiled or damaged during the process of
affixing them.
(2)
Where Excise Tax Stamps are spoiled or damaged in
the process of being affixed, the manufacturer shall
keep the Stamps for inspection and certification by
the Authority.
(3) A manufacturer who ceases production either
temporarily or permanently shall submit a record of
unused Stamps to the Authority within a period of
fifteen days after which the Authority shall recover
the unused stamps and take appropriate steps to
reconcile the supply and use of the Stamps.
Audit
13. (1) The Authority may carry out periodic and
random audits of the operation of importers,
manufacturers or traders for compliance and Stamp
reconciliation with tax payment.
(2) The Commissioner-General may, at any time,
direct the audit of any trader or inspection of
premises for the purpose of enforcement and
compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Monitoring and enforcement
14. An authorised officer of the Authority may, at a
reasonable time in the day, enter the premises of
any manufacturer, importer, wholesaler, distributor
or retailer of excisable goods for the purposes of
(a)
verifying the application of the Excise Tax Stamp on
designated products;
(b)
verifying the genuineness of affixed Stamps; or
(c)
ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act.
'
Failure to affix Excise Tax Stamp
15. (1) A person shall not put on sale or release
for sale a product which requires an Excise Tax
Stamp to be affixed to the product, if that product
does not have the Stamp affixed to it.
(2) The Authority shall seize a product
required to have the Excise Tax Stamp affixed to it
which is put on sale or released for sale without
the Stamp affixed to it.
(3) A person who sells a product or releases a
product for sale contrary to subsection (1) commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine of not more than three hundred per cent of the
duties and taxes involved or to a term of
imprisonment of not more than five years or to both.
(4) Sections 288 and 289 of the Customs Excise
'and Preventive Service (Management) Act, 1993 (P.N.D.C.L.
330) apply to a seizure \under this section.
Falsification, alteration and counterfeiting of
Excise Tax Stamp
16. A person who in a matter relating to the Excise
Tax Stamp, makes an impression, alters, counterfeits
or performs an act with the intent of evading any
duty or tax, commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine of not mote than
three hundred per cent of the duties and taxes
evaded or to a term of imprisonment of not more than
five years or to both and any goods connected to the
offence shall be forfeited
to the State.
Excise Tax Stamp Manuals
17. The Commissioner-General may issue
administrative, accounting and operational manuals
that are necessary for the administration of the
Excise Tax Stamp.
Regulations
18. The Minister may, by legislative instrument,
make Regulations
(a) to provide for the excisable products to
which an Excise Tax Stamp is to be affixed;
(b)
to provide for the mode of application for
registration as a manufacturer or importer of
excisable products for which an Excise Tax Stamp is
required to be affixed;
(c)
to provide for the mode of procurement of Excise Tax
Stamps;
(d)
to provide for the procedure for record-keeping;
(e)
for the submission of returns to the Commissioner-
General; and
(f)
generally for the effective implementation of this
Act.
Interpretation
19. In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires,
"Authority" means the Ghana Revenue Authority;
"Excisable goods" means goods of description liable
to excise
duty if delivered for consumption in Ghana and
includes
spirits rectified or compounded in Ghana;
"Excise Duty" means any duty other than export duty
of customs imposed on any goods manufactured or
produced in this country or similar goods imported
into the country;
"Excise Tax Stamp Portal" means a dedicated website
specially designed for administering the tax stamp
programme and which serves as an anchor site for
users when they connect to the internet for
registration, the placing of orders, tracking and
tracing, product authentication and verification,
display of information and generation of reports;
"importer" includes the owner or the person who for
the time
being
(a)
has possession of or is beneficially interested in
any products at and from the time of their
importation until the products are fully delivered
out of Customs charge, and
(b)
puts in a declaration or signs any document relating
to any imported products required by law to be
signed by an importer;
"manufacturer" means a person who by any means makes
or produces or causes to be made or produced any
excisable goods;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for
Finance;
"products" include goods;
"product unit" means the smallest package in which
the product is normally presented and retailed
except for cigarettes which shall be 'the pack'; and
"Stamp" means the Excise Tax Stamp established in
section 1.
Transitional provisions
20. (1) The Minister shall by executive instrument
determine the date from which manufacturers and
importers are to affix the Excise Tax Stamps on the
specified products.
(2) Three months after the date determined by the
Authority under subsection (1), a person shall not
sell or distribute a product that requires an Excise
Tax Stamp to be affixed to that product but that
does not bear the Excise Tax Stamp.
(3) A manufacturer, importer, wholesaler or retailer
that still has a stock of any of the specified
products not sold after the transitional period
shall take an inventory and buy the commensurate
quantity of Excise Tax Stamps from the Authority to
be affixed to the stock before selling the specified
products.
(4) A product which requires an Excise Tax Stamp
found displayed for sale or sold or distributed
after the period specified in subsection (2) without
an Excise Tax Stamp is liable to seizure and the
person selling or distributing the product commits
an offence.
(5) A person who commits an offence under subsection
(4) is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not
more than three hundred per cent of the duties and
taxes involved or to a term of imprisonment of not
more than five years or to both.
SCHEDULE
(Section 4(3) and (6))
Form A
REGISTRATION OF MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS
Basic details
Manufacturer/Importer Name
..................................................................
.
Type of Manufacturer - Domestic
Foreign
Tax Identification Number (TIN) (not applicable to a
foreign manufacturer)
Excise License Number (Local Manufacturers Only)
......................................................................................
Date ........... .
Location
Town/City .
Country .
Phone Number .
Address (Mailing) .
Fax Number .
E-mail address .
Admin details
Name of Contact Person .
Designation/Position .
Phone Number .
E-mail address .
Tax Stamp details
Product manufactured/imported
1,Cigarettes
II. Spirits
III. Non alcoholic beverage
IV. Alcoholic beverage (Beer etc.)
V. Water
. VI. Other
Date of Gazettenotification: 5th February,
2014.
GPCL, ASSEMBLY PRESS, ACCRA. GPCLlA48/300102/2014
Website:
www.ghanapublishingcompany.com E-mail:
info@ghanapublishingcompany.com
|