Transport Unions have been advised to assist the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect tax.

This was contained in a speech read on behalf of Mrs. Janet Opoku- Acheampong, Commissioner of the IRS, at the launch of the new Vehicle Income Tax (VIT) sticker at Takoradi, on Thursday.

She said transport unions collected only nine billion cedis out of a target of 28 billion cedis revenue expected from the sector last year.

"The collection of nine billion cedis shows that the service has come to its end and has to introduce a standard assessment".

She said embezzlement by union executives, non-payment of tax by members and deliberate delays in payment were some of the reasons for the poor performance of the unions.

Mrs. Opoku-Acheampong said the introduction of the new system was meant to review and streamline the daily tax collection and to ensure accountability.

"I wish to assure the Ghanaian public that the IRS would continue with this monitoring on selected high ways and monitoring kiosk would be sited in some lorry parks to ensure efficiency and reduce tax evasion, avoidance and corruption," she said.

Mr. Joseph K.A Oppong, Assistant Commissioner of Tax Examinations, said the VIT would begin on July 1 this year and that defaulters would be arrested and prosecuted from August 2003.

VIT had the backing of Legislative Instrument 1769, he said adding that, defaulters would have a fine of between 500,000 and one million cedis or three-month imprisonment imposed on them, he said.

Mr Kwasi Ansah representing the Ghana Private Transport Union (GPRTU) and Haulage Drivers, appealed to the IRS to reduce the tax.

He said some officials of the Service colluded with drivers to dodge tax and urged the authorities to institute measures to check abuses.

Mr Ansah assured Guards and other staff of the GPRTU that the introduction of the VIT system would not make them redundant