Deductions for E-Levy to begin in May 2022, Finance Minister
You will be prosecuted if you fall foul of E-Levy law, Majority Leader
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has said that while there are claims that the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) cannot start operating in May, the bill is already in operation.
According to him, the fact that the E-Levy has been passed by parliament, and then assented to by the president, is an automatic process of the bill being in operation has taken place.
He added that by this, anyone who refuses to live by the law, even though deductions are yet to begin, can face severe punishment, reports 3news.com.
“They say they want to stop the implementation but the bill is already being implemented, I don’t know what they mean by that. Upon the assent of the President the bill, if Parliament has not postponed the operation, immediately after the assent comes into operation.
“So, if you fall foul to it you can be prosecuted for falling foul to the bill that has been assented by the President. So, this bill is in operation, the necessary structures are being put in place now, it doesn’t mean it is not being implemented, it is being implemented, if the Minister tells you that the actual collection starts from 1st May,” he said.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was reacting to the injunction application filed against the E-Levy by Members of Parliament from the opposition National Democratic Congress, at the Supreme Court.
The injunction is to get the apex court to hold up the commencement of deduction of the E-Levy.
The report added that the hearing of the application will take place on May 4, 2022.
The Majority Leader further stated that should what the NDC MPs are pushing for go through, it would create a future of precedents that would affect the independence of the arms of government.
“I think we are beholding some dangerous spectacle in Ghana. Minority party and opposition party exist, Parliament as a whole must be putting government on its toes, especially through its committee and if something untoward happens a committee or an individual or the caucus could raise the matter.
“The business of the house requires that these matters are mooted through parliament using the structures to challenge decisions that are taken. If you are saying that you don’t think it was an appropriate representation in the House and you have taken a decision you can come by a motion.
“The burden of proof is on them. On the injunction, I don’t want to pronounce on it but I guess you and I will know that it is going to be an exercise in futility. As far as I am concerned, let us endeavor to exhaust the processes and procedures in parliament, if you are not satisfied and you want to move further upstairs, yes. But at the say so of an individual that let us go to court, when the matter had not been dealt with in Parliament, it is a very dangerous precedent in this country.
“Let nobody convince or persuade himself that the NPP is going to be in government forever, the path that you are charting now will be there to haunt you tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Litigate your matter in Parliament, why are you afraid to litigate your matter in matter?” he added.
Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, stated that the implementation of the E-Levy would begin in May 2022 although the bill was passed in March.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has also since then assented his signature to it, making it a working law.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is the Majority Leader in Parliament