By: Momodou Justice Darboe
Numerous local water and beverage companies have vowed to continue with their strike over the newly introduced GRA digitalexcise stamp due to its cost implications on their businesses.
As part of its revenue mobilization reforms, the GRA obliged the water and beverage companies to put digital tax stamps on their products but the companies said this would increase the cost of doing business, which may have serious financial implications for them and consumers of their products.
Representatives of the Association of Gambian Manufacturers were yesterday locked in a meeting with the GRA but they emerged out of it more adamant that their factory engines would remain silent though the GRA corporate affairs manager Ousman Bah described the engagement as successful.
According to one of the AGM representatives, GRA insisted during the meeting that they must buy the stamps in advance as well as the automated machine that churns them out.
“How can we afford this kind of money? You are talking of millions of Dalasi. They just want to transfer the cost to us and that’s unsustainable. This is why we decided to continue with our strike until they rescind their decision,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bah told this reporter on Tuesday evening that the digital tax stamp is here to stay.
Bah said that the GRA engaged the company owners because it considered them as an important constituency of the tax community.
He explained that the GRA’s role here is to enforce the tax laws.
“But we invited them because we believed that we have a problem that we can solve together. We appreciate and value taxpayers but we have to enforce tax laws,” he stated.
Be that it may, producers said they would incur a lot of expenses as a result of the digital tax stamp and that their factory doors would remain shut until a resolution is found.
