“This is possible due to team work, determination and commitment of our staff,” Mr. Kanuteh said, while briefing the top management and board of the GRA at the Soma Customs Post Office.
The GRA board and top management were on nation-wide tour to all provincial customs offices.
Mr. Kanuteh commended the GRA board and management for the visits, which he said would go a long way in adding value and boost morale of GRA staff who are on postings. “We feel excited to interact and share our successes, challenges and see possible ways of helping us to address those issues for effective service delivery in revenue collection”. Mr. Kanuteh expressed.
The Customs manager spoke at length on the significance of the launching of the “digital single window project which is greatly facilitating cross border trade.” He further expressed profound gratitude and appreciation for the collective collaboration that his office continues to enjoy with other sister security within the region.
Sulay Ndure, tax manager, Domestic Tax at Jarra Soma Branch, welcomed the delegation. He talked about the importance of reminding taxpayers about GRA’s mandate, describing it as collecting tax and accounting for in a fair and transparent manner.
He cited tax collection as important for nation building, saying, “we know that greater percent of government’s revenue is collected through tax.
Mr. Ndure added that tax collection is the duty of the GRA staff and that tax compliance is the duty of everyone. “Before you award a contract or do a business, make sure that a tax clearance certificate is shown to you. This can improve the revenue collection. Revenue allows countries to be less reliant on foreign aid, and we all know about the donor fatigue. So let us work together in improving tax collection for nation building,” he advised.
He thanked all GRA staff under the leadership of the Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe for being one of the lead revenue collectors in Africa.
He also commended the management of GRA for the good system introduced such as the ASYCUDA World and the ITAS which is about to be introduced, which is hoping to boost revenue collection and ease the taxpayers’ service.
Mr. Ndure reiterated that Soma Domestic Tax Branch was able to achieve revenue growth on a monthly basis and all the months except February, March, April and September had exceeded their targets.
He revealed that Soma Domestic Office has a database of taxpayers within the region, including TIN Number, Taxpayer name, mobile number and address.
