The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Dr. Anthony Sarpong, has revealed that the GRA collected GH¢6.1 billion in customs revenue in July 2026.
This is an increase from the about GH¢4 billion per month it collected prior to the introduction of the Artificial Intelligence-driven system.
He says the Publican AI system has contributed massively to the significant revenue mobilisation, presenting an additional GH¢2.1 billion in monthly revenue compared with the pre-implementation figure.
Speaking during a courtesy call by the Management of the GRA to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at the Manhyia Palace on Friday, August 7, 2026, Dr. Sarpong noted that the full implementation of Publican AI began in April 2026 as part of reforms aimed at improving the valuation of imported goods and increasing revenue from import duties.
According to him, the GRA previously collected about GH¢4 billion a month from customs revenue, but the figure rose to GH¢5.5 billion in June and GH¢6.1 billion in July.
“The full implementation started in April 2026. So, between April and June, we are happy to report, and as the Finance Minister, Dr Ato Forson also echoed in Parliament, that we are collecting about GH¢1.3 to GH¢1.5 billion a month in addition to what we used to collect.
“So that means before the implementation we were collecting about GHC4 billion a month. As of June, we were collecting GH¢5.5 billion. In the month of July, we collected GH¢6.1 billion, which means that our custom reforms are working,” he noted.
He attributed the improvement to the cooperation of the business community, importers and GRA staff in implementing the reform.
Dr Sarpong also announced that the Authority is preparing to introduce another major reform targeting value added tax (VAT) collection.
He said only about four out of every 10 businesses currently pay VAT, while the remaining six either do not charge the tax, charge but fail to remit it, or do not pay it for other reasons.
Government, Dr. Sarpong noted, has recently approved a project that would enable the government to mandate the installation of devices at shops and service points to improve VAT administration.
“That is going to be a game changer in our VAT administration,” he said.
The Commissioner-General said the GRA would engage businesses and the public extensively ahead of the implementation of the VAT reforms, and disclosed plans for a taxpayer or consumer reward scheme under which individuals who collect VAT receipts would be eligible for rewards from the GRA or government.
He said details of the reward scheme would be announced later.
Dr Sarpong thanked the Asantehene and traditional leaders in the Ashanti region for supporting the GRA’s revenue mobilisation efforts and providing a peaceful environment for its officers to operate.
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