The Northern regional sector of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) raised over 166 million cedis in revenue in 2018, exceeding its target by 161.51 per cent.
Officials have attributed the feat to a sustained drive in debt collection from manufacturers, warehouses and other institutions in the region.
The Tamale collection unit had a target of 63.86 million cedis for 2018 but ended the year with 166,999,102.61 cedis.
The Northern Regional Commander of Customs, Assistant Commissioner Kwasi Ahiakpor, told 3news.com that voluntary tax compliance and exemplary performance of officers contributed to the achievement.
Significant gains were made in revenue collection in special petroleum tax, energy and debt recovery as well as National Health Insurance levies. But the unit fell short of its target for import levies.
Mr. Ahiakpor said measures are in place to improve on areas where they did not do well in 2018.
He indicated revenue collection will improve further when the poor checkpoint systems are addressed.
“The country should turn and look here; if we could fix the checkpoint in Tamale and other parts of Northern Region into proper and modern checkpoints, we would have raked in more revenue than we did,” he stated.
As a fast growing commercial city, Customs regards Tamale as a major hub for revenue mobilization.
By Benjamin Aidoo|3news.com|Ghana