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Commodity prices to increase between eight and 12 percent from February if the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) implements the amended Value Added Tax (VAT) rate, Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG) has predicted.

Mr. Samson Awingobit Asaki, IEAG Executive Secretary stated that “Ghanaians are going to experience some increases in prices of commodities if GRA implements the new VAT which is moving the business community from three percent flat rate plus the one percent COVID-19 levy to a whooping percentage of 19.2 percent.”

Mr. Asaki in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema explained that there was the need for the GRA and other relevant state institutions to educate the public on the amended tax component to prepare them for the implications of its implementation.

He said even though standard VAT should not be more than 12 per cent, per the amendment, Ghana’s own was increasing to 19.2 per cent for businesses whose capital was from GHC500, 000.00.

According to him, the amendment would affect goods that had already been cleared in 2021 and yet to be sold, adding that the business operators and retailers would have no option other than to pass on the difference to consumers therefore the need for the GRA to sensitize the public.

Mr. Asaki said the amendment which was gazetted on December 31, 2021 was expected to be implemented in February, indicating that the time frame was short and consumers would be in shock when prices increased without any proper education.