According to him, this development has created more market space for local producers and importers.
In an interview with local journalists, CG Darboe explained that digital tax stamp is imposed on cigarettes, flour, soft drinks and all excisable commodities.
He acknowledged the support of the government in creating an enabling environment for the country’s main revenue mobilisation agency to collect tax for national development. The GRA boss also pointed out that the agency would not have succeeded in virtually eliminating smuggling of excisable commodities without the support of the government because, according to him, the policy has been met with resistance from some quarters. He further acknowledged government’s support in driving the GRA’s reform agenda as reforms would increase the tax money.
CG Darboe emphasised the significance of digital tax in domestic revenue mobilisation, saying in this day and age, most of the developing countries are advocating domestic revenue generation rather than depending on external revenue sources.
“Whatever we are doing, the government is helping us to make sure that we can collect more for the use of the government. GRA comes with reforms, and the government supports us so that at the end of the day, there is a strong digital structure on different tax lines, and we will be able to collect more revenue that the government can use to sustain whatever development desire they have,” the GRA boss stated.
He asserted that The Gambia stands high in domestic revenue mobilisation, explaining that GRA’s modus operandi makes it one of the best in the sub-region as they enjoy the support of the government in pushing forward their reforms.
“If we don’t have the support of the government, some of these reforms will be hard,” he opined
The digital stamp initiative was introduced in March 2024 in The Gambia to revolutionise the tracking and monitoring of excisable products in real time.
This followed an agreement between the government of Gambia and SICPA, the solution provider in fulfilment of GRA’s reform priorities as per their Corporate Strategy Plan 2020-2024
According to the GRA, the initiative is expected to streamline operations by enabling them to swiftly identify and prevent illicit trade and smuggling.
Speaking about the revenue mobilisation solution provided by SICPA, Finance Minister Seedy Keita said its full implementation would give GRA access to accurate real-time production data of locally produced excisable goods, and differentiate between illicit and genuinely imported excisable goods.
“This (DTS) will protect the market share from unfair competition from fake and illicit products and the public will gain through the consumption of genuinely imported and locally produced excisable goods,” he said.
