The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has reported a billion cedis in revenue in the month of April, a performance Commissioner has confirmed.

Mr Anthony Kofi Sarpong, while speaking at the 10th Ghana CEO Summit, indicated that the revenue marks a significant improvement in tax collection, compliance, administrative efficiency and digital reforms targeted at strengthening the country’s economy.

Highlighting the massive improvement in revenue collection compared to the same period last year, the Commissioner attributed the increase to the introduction of the Republican Artificial Intelligence system at the ports.

The “Republican AI” (also called Publican AI) system is a Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) initiative introduced in early 2026 to automate customs valuation at the ports to modernise operations and block revenue leakages.

“The Republican Artificial Intelligence system introduced at the ports helped improve compliance and blocked revenue leakages. “Indeed, the results for the first two months of deploying the AI are amazing and promising. In April alone, we added GHS1 billion to our revenue generation for customs,” the Commissioner noted.

He noted that the GH¢1 billion collection in April demonstrates the potential of a more efficient and modernised tax system, but stressed that broader structural reforms are still required to sustain and expand gains in revenue mobilisation.

“Our aspiration for a reset and transformed economy is not attainable if we fail to mobilise the needed domestic revenue as one of the most important catalysts for national development,” he said

He went on to highlight the need for a sustained revenue mobilisation channel to ensure development as the country makes efforts to reduce and gradually cut heavy reliance on external financial inflows.

“Education and development of Ghana rest and thrive on the provision of relevant enablers, including infrastructure, energy, a well-trained and equipped workforce, and efficient public services,” he stated, underscoring the importance of sustained revenue flows to support national priorities.

The Commissioner-General warned that reliance on external financing is increasingly uncertain, making domestic revenue mobilisation a matter of economic sovereignty.

“The alternative to mobilising domestic revenue is dependence on financing that is no longer reliably open or available,” he said.

Mr. Sarpong explained that ensuring fairness within the tax system remains essential to protecting compliant businesses from unfair competition created by operators who evade their tax obligations.

“The compliant business pays its share, while the non-compliant business does not. The gap between the two becomes a competitive penalty paid by firms that are actually doing the right thing,” he said.

He indicated that current tax reforms are aimed at widening the tax net and strengthening compliance through digitalisation instead of imposing additional burdens on already compliant taxpayers.

“We want this era of tax reform to be about ensuring that those who pay are no longer being competed against by those who do not,” he stated.

Touching on the role of innovation, Mr Sarpong said technology is transforming tax administration by creating efficiencies that were previously difficult to achieve.

“Technology is now available for us to change structurally what was not possible yesterday. A credible tax system is in itself a factor of production for the Ghanaian industry,” he noted.

He further praised ongoing reforms under the current administration, stressing that the emphasis has been on improving revenue collection efficiency rather than introducing new taxes.

“We are focused on the efficiency of collecting those that are there,” he stated.

Mr. Sarpong also revealed that the GRA is reviewing several tax laws, many of which have existed for more than a decade, in a bid to make them more responsive to current economic realities and address compliance loopholes.

“We are comprehensively revising our tax laws, many of which are over 10 years old, to make them relevant, practical, and up to date with current requirements,” he said.

He stressed that modernising the country’s tax framework would be key to sustaining recent revenue growth and advancing Ghana’s broader economic transformation agenda.