GRA Explains Reason For Wrongful E-Levy Charges, Blames Internet Outage

• The Ghana Revenue Authority has said some Ghanaians were wrongfully charged the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) during the internet outage
• The authority has said it is working to refund the wrongful e-levy charges
• Damage to undersea cables caused the internet disruption in Ghana and other parts of Africa on March 14, 2024

The Ghana Revenue Authority has admitted that some Ghanaians were wrongfully charged the Electronic Transfer Levy during the internet outage.

The authority has said it is working with charging entities to refund the wrongful deductions.

In a statement to the Ghana News Agency, it explained that the deductions were caused by charging entities not being able to route transactions to the Electronic Transfer Levy Management and Assurance System in real time.

The authority said the charging entities would be responsible for reimbursing customers for any e-levy charges.

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In the meantime, temporary procedures have been put in place for the processing of offline transactions.

"These temporary procedures will ensure that E-Levy is charged only on applicable transactions, even if there is a delay due to internet outage," it said.

Damage to undersea cables caused the internet disruption in Ghana and other parts of Africa on March 14, 2024.

People were unable to access essential internet services and social media.

Bank transfers and mobile money transactions were also reported to be affected.

Compensation from telcos

Aside from the charges, some customers complained of losing data bundles, among others.

National Communications Authority Director General Joe Anokye expects Mobile Network Operators to offer compensation to subscribers following the recent internet disruptions.

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Anokye, however, said the operators would have to make a proposal the authority can consider.

MTN says it has restored data services after internet outage

YEN.com.gh MTN Ghana said it has restored its internet network capacity following the widespread internet outage.

In a statement on March 24, 2024, MTN said it was using alternative cables to support its customers.

MTN expects the repair of undersea cables to take approximately 5 to 7 weeks.

It also assured that it would reinstate data bundles lost by customers during the interruption.

Source: YEN.com.gh