The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced that the government is introducing a new hybrid excise system for wines and spirits to plug massive tax leakages estimated at GH¢4 billion between 2023 and 2025.
Delivering the Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the 2026 Budget in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, 2026, Dr Forson revealed that official figures showed a significant portion of wine and spirit imports routinely bypassed the tax network through custom processes.
“Analysis of wine and spirit imported between twenty-three and twenty twenty-five shows a taxable revenue of over five billion Ghana cities. However, about seventy-eight percent worth four billion Ghana cities entered customs procedures such as warehousing and transit. In other words, almost four out of every five cities of the potential excise tax based on wine and spirit escaped the tax net,” he stated.
Describing the current regime as deeply inefficient, the Finance Minister reiterated the urgent need for a complete overhaul of the collection mechanisms.
“Mr speaker, only one city out of every five cities was subjected to excise duty. That is neither efficient nor sustainable and this must change,” he told the House.
Dr Forson highlighted that the Excise Duty Bill currently before Parliament lays out comprehensive structural reforms designed to plug the loopholes and enhance revenue mobilization.
“The excise duty bill before this house introduced a comprehensive package of reforms to close these leakages. Mister speaker, we will crack down this leakage,” he said.
Outlining the new strategy, the Minister explained that the proposed framework will combine both value-based and quantity-based taxation models to combat persistent under-declaration.
“Right honourable speaker, specifically government will introduce a high-breed excise system combining value-based and quantity-based taxation for wines and spirits to eliminate persistent undervaluation and misclassification and ensure a minimum level of tax is paid regardless of the declared value,” Dr Forson stated.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
