By: Momodou Justice Darboe.
The Commissioner General of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr. Yankuba Darboe, has renewed GRA’s commitmentand zeal to upscale revenue collection this year barely three days after the Authority smashed the D15.2 billion revenue target that the Government of The Gambia set for it in 2023.
“I want to assure the public and the government that the GRA’s Board and Management are fully dedicated to achieving the revenue target for 2024 as set by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs in the sum of D19.2 billion, which is a huge challenge but we are equal to the task. We understand the significance of the revenue we collect in funding critical government programs, and we are ready to face the challenges that 2024 may present. Our success in 2024 is contingent on our collective efforts and collaboration with taxpayers, businesses, and all stakeholders,” he stated.
The GRA boss on Tuesday addressed a press conference at the Authority’s HQ in Banjul to inform the nation of GRA’s revenue performance, the reforms, and areas of challenge that the revenue mobilization agency was confronted with in 2023.
“In 2023, the Authority was tasked by Government to collect the sum of D15.2 billion, indicating a growth of 19% from the 2022 revenue target. I am delighted to announce that the Authority as at 31st December 2023 collected the sum of D15.756 billion, registering a 4% collection above the target and a 23% revenue performance growth when compared to the 2022 revenue performance. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, the support of government, and the cooperation of taxpayers and stakeholders,” CG Darboe enthused.
He reported that the enhanced revenue mobilization last year is attributable to massive nominal growth in international trade.
“This revenue performance is attributed to a substantial nominal growth of 36% in international trade or in absolute terms D2, 239,357,480.01 and an impressive 11% growth for Domestic Taxes or an absolute variance of D735, 441,739.75 when compared to the 2022 revenue performance for both departments,” said the Gambia’s revenue mobilization chief.
He informed reporters that the GRA successfully implemented a series of reforms and strategies throughout the past year to enhance efficiency, and transparency and to optimize the Authority’s revenue collection processes.
“The introduction of the ASYCUDA World system contributed immensely to the revenue performance for international trade,” added CG Darboe.
Rental Income Tax Office
The Commissioner General was elated to report that the Rental Income Tax Office has generated D72.32 million after it was established in 2023 to mainly administer rental income to leverage the growing number of rental properties in The Gambia. This amount, according to him, represents an “impressive” growth of 87% as compared to 2022.
“However, we recognize the need for continued efforts to improve compliance among this category of taxpayers,” the GRA boss underlined.
He explained that the GRA last year introduced an IT solution for excisable goods, telecoms services, and refined fuel through a PPP arrangement.
“Also in 2023, the Authority signed another PPP contract for the implementation of the Single Window platform, e-tracking, anddigital weighbridge, whose implementation is currently underway, and we are hopeful that this IT solution will enhance trade and improve revenue administration,” CG Darboe stated.
“As the world becomes a digital space, the Authority is also leveraging on IT solutions to digitalize our entire business processes and procedures to make tax compliance easy and less costly for the taxpayer,” he said.
Reforms Planned for 2024
The Commissioner General expressed GRA’s commitment to more reforms and digitization to broaden the tax base, facilitate trade, and enhance compliance.
“We will implement Digital Excise Stamps for excisable goods starting from January 2024 and also introduce fuel marking by March 2024. We are also on the verge of introducing a Rental Income Mobilization System to aid the collection of rental income tax and improve the compliance mechanisms for taxpayers,” he stated.
According to CG Darboe, a significant milestone in 2024 will be the implementation of the Revenue Assurance System for the Telecoms Sector by mid-year. He explained that a web-based Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) will also be introduced in 2024 to automate the domestic tax collection system.
“Additionally, we aim to conduct a comprehensive service delivery survey to gather feedback from the general public, taxpayers, and businesses on the services we render with a view of making improvements in our operations and relations with taxpayers and business community,” the revenue mobilization boss explained.
“Lastly, our Corporate Strategic Plan (2020-2024) is due to end this year and we plan to develop a new corporate strategic plancovering 2025-2029 with new activities and new milestones,” he added.For more on the presser, see our subsequent publication.