In Ghana: AirtelTigo, Vodafone, MTN set to hike their tariffs from 1st November

Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications has announced this 17th october that its members: Vodafone, AirtelTigo and MTN will increase tariffs from  1st November 2018.

This hike is due to the implementation of the new tax laws: VAT (ACT 970), NHIL (ACT 971) and GETFL (ACT 972) amended by the  govenrment during the  2018 mid-year budget review.

In fact, the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) and the Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy (GETFL) will be dissociated from the  TVA.

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunication stated that  MTN, Vodafone, AirtelTigo « who are responsible corporate entities, would comply fully with Ghana’s laws and ensure the distinction between VAT and the new levies emanating from their separate origins and basis in law ».

The two new levies are then the reason of the tariffs hike. As said in the statement: « … the incidence of the two new levies will, thus, be on consumers and will result in the increase of the cost of telecommunication services ».

« The objective was to “give effect to the conversion of NHIL and GETFL into levies that are not subject to the input-output mechanism, and delinking them from VAT by removing the option of input tax deductibility,” thereby giving both levies a unique and different legal identity and distinguished from VAT, » the statement signed by the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Kenneth Ashigbey said

Customers should be expecting the change from the 1st of october. However, they will be notified by their service providers will there be any other change.

« Our members, who are responsible corporate entities, would comply fully with Ghana’s laws and ensure the distinction between VAT and the new levies emanating from their separate origins and basis in law. (…) .Customers of telecommunication services will be notified by their service providers prior to any changes being made and the expected changes will take effect on 1st of November 2018 ».we learn from the press release.

Lyda Gbadji