The Supreme Court has on Wednesday, May 4 dismissed an injunction application against the implementation of the controversial electronic transfer levy otherwise known as E-levy.
It would be recalled that three minority MPs namely Haruna Iddrisu, Mahama Ayariga and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa filed an injunction against the implementation of the controversial levy after its passage by parliament on March 29, 2022.
The objective of their injunction was to block the government from implementing the levy until an earlier case they filed to challenge the passage of the law is determined by the Ghana’s apex court.
And even though the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has begun implementing the 1.5 percent charge on mobile money and other electronic cash transactions, the three lawmakers were arguing that the legal threshold for the passage of the bill was not met before it was passed.
But in a unanimous decision, the apex court has dismissed the application, ordering the Ghana Revenue Authority to keep accurate records of all e-levy deductions to enable a refund to payees if it is later determined that the law was passed unconstitutionally.
The Court which was composed of Nene Amegatcher as President, Her Ladyship Mariama Owusu, His Lordship Professor Ashie Kotey, Her Ladyship Getrude Torkornoo, Her Ladyship Lovelace Johnson, His Lordship Emmanuel Yony Kulendi, and Her Ladyship Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonsu said the country would suffer a great deal if the government is temporarily stopped from deducting the levy from all electronic transactions.
