Reliable sources have told The Point that regional area councils including municipal councils have retaken revenue collection from the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA).
According to our source, area councils and municipalities are now fully in charge of revenue collection from taxpayers, following an executive directive dated 8 June 2015.
Following this new development, the management of the Brikama Area Council has sent a press release to the media informing the general public and business persons within its jurisdiction that it has resumed the responsibility of collection of revenue, following an executive directive dated 8 June 2015.
The release further stated that as a result of the reversal of the above function, GRA has ceased to collect revenue on behalf of the council effective 9 June 2015.
According to the BAC release, all previous system of payments of their revenue remains the same.
It would be recalled that the GRA recently announced in the national newspapers that with effect from 1 April 2015, the GRA was taking over the revenue collection responsibility hitherto being performed by the area councils and municipalities throughout the country.
These collections of revenue included the following: rental of markets, shops/stalls, trade licences paid by business in all council/municipalities’ jurisdictions, and land transfer fees payable on the purchase and transfer of all landed properties.