Ghana has showcased its digital tax reforms and smart taxation initiatives at the 7th Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum (BRITACOF) in Jakarta, Indonesia, positioning the country as an emerging reference point in the transformation of revenue administration.
The Ghanaian delegation, led by Elsie Appau-Klu, Technical Adviser to the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), participated in the Digital Transformation session of the forum on October 14, 2026. Ms Appau-Klu, who served as Head of Delegation, delivered a keynote address on Ghana’s transition from tax informatisation to smart taxation, sharing the country’s experience with more than 300 delegates from nearly 40 jurisdictions.
Speaking on behalf of the GRA Commissioner-General, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, Ms Appau-Klu said digital transformation should not be treated merely as an information technology project but as a broader governance reform aimed at improving efficiency and building trust between tax administrations and taxpayers. She said Ghana’s approach had evolved through the integration of digital identity, customs systems and mobile technology into tax administration.
She highlighted three major reforms underpinning Ghana’s digital transformation. The first was the adoption of the Ghana Card Personal Identification Number as the Taxpayer Identification Number in 2021, which increased identity-linked taxpayers from about three million to more than 18 million. The second was the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), introduced to unify customs operations across ports, borders and other frontiers, while the third was the use of mobile technology under the Modified Taxation Scheme (MTS) for the informal sector, enabling taxpayers to file returns and make payments using feature phones.
According to Ms Appau-Klu, the reforms were already producing measurable results. She cited GRA revenue of GH¢182 billion in 2025, compared with GH¢153 billion in 2024, with the Authority targeting GH¢310 billion by 2028. She also said the use of artificial intelligence had helped identify additional revenue, including about GH¢1 billion generated in April 2026 through the Publican AI system in addressing undervaluation.
The Technical Adviser further stated that Ghana’s digital strategy was also focused on transforming the role of tax officers rather than replacing them. She said auditors were being retrained to work increasingly as data analysts and risk managers, while artificial intelligence was being deployed to support, rather than replace, human decision-making. She identified legal safeguards, cybersecurity, privacy protection, human oversight and taxpayers’ rights to object and appeal as key principles guiding the use of technology.
Ms Appau-Klu also called for stronger international cooperation and interoperability among tax administrations, proposing common standards and a Smart-Tax Reference Architecture under the Belt and Road tax cooperation framework. The Ghanaian delegation, which included Moses Koloni Yidana, Head of the GRA Transfer Pricing Unit, and Abdul Rauf Nasiru, Head of Telecommunications and Services at the Large Taxpayer Office Audit Division, is expected to continue engagements in Jakarta as the forum seeks to promote smarter, fairer and more efficient tax systems.
By: Daniel Orlando/newsalertgh.com
