Telecoms Chamber kicks against mobile phone tax

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT) has called for the removal of the 20 per cent excise duty imposed on mobile phones to help stem the unintended consequences it has caused.

The chamber mentioned a rise in smuggling of handsets into the country and a reduction in mobile phone sales in the market as some of the negative effects that the introduction and subsequent implementation of the tax in 2013 had triggered in the industry.

The tax was one of the measures introduced by the government to help increase national revenue.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the chamber, Mr Kweku Sakyi-Addo argued that the intention for imposing the tax had been defeated following the drop in the sale of handsets in the country.

“With the current regime, people are smuggling the mobile phones into Ghana and they are not paying taxes. So, the companies that are law abiding,  who pay taxes and employ people cannot operate with these smugglers and this now has an impact on these companies as well as on government revenues,” Mr Sakyi-Addo told the Daily Graphic after the launch of a new phone, the Tecno Phantom Z, in Accra.

“In actual fact, it is in government’s interest to remove the tax and if it does it, the smuggling will reduce, more people will now afford the phones and the government revenues from the Communication Services Tax (CST) will also increase,” he explained.

The CST is a six per cent service charge on talk-time paid by mobile phone subscribers but collected by the various telecom companies and forwarded to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The CEO of GCT said the chamber was hopeful the government would use the 2015 budget, which is being prepared for reading later in November, to announce a removal of the phone tax.

Previous attempts in that regard had failed, Mr Sekyi-Addo said, adding that the government’s response on proposals to remove the tax has always been “they will look into it.”

Phantom Z

The Tecno Phantom is an addition to the brand’s Phantom range of smartphones introduced which are already on sale in the market.

It was introduced in response to the changing needs of consumers towards smartphones, the Business Manager of Tecno, Mr Daniel Glover, said at the launch.

“What we did was to conduct a consumer centred research into the things that consumers would expect to see in a typical smartphone. The findings of the research showed that consumers, mostly the youth, desired phones that made it easier for them to take good ‘selfies’ anywhere anytime,” Mr Glover explained in an interview after the programme.

The launch of the phone, he said, was in fulfilment of the company’s commitment to continue investing in the country.

The CEO of the Telecoms Chamber lauded the company for its commitment to innovation over the years, especially with regard to the launch of the Phantom Z, which he said was “exquisitely designed, strong, anti-scratch and finger-print proof.” 

The Tecno Phantom Z comes with enhanced mega pixels for sharper and quality pictures, longer lasting battery and free data for three months supplied by MTN, a voice and data mobile service provider.