Bolgatanga, Aug 25, GNA - The Value Added Tax (VAT) Service in the Upper East Region, on Tuesday called on the Controller and Accountant General's Department, then Auditor Generals Department, the Police and the Judiciary Service to help ensure that persons eligible to pay VAT do so.

"W need you to help us when the need arises, to draw our attention to defaulters and those who deliberately dodge their obligation to pay," Mr Harruna S Sachibu, Regional Director of the VAT Service, said.

Mr. Sachibu was speaking at a seminar on the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) in Bolgatanga, organised by the VAT Service for the Police, Judicial, Audit and Internal Revenue Services and some personnel of the Controller and Accountant General's Department.

He urged the Audit Service to ensure that their clients produced the correct VAT invoices and asked the Police and the Judicial Services help prosecute defaulters to serve as deterrent to others.

He explained that the NHIL was partly to finance the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and not part of VAT and said a special board independent of government would manage it.

Mr Sachibu said more than 60 per cent of the NHIS was expected from the levy since the other sources including the two and a half per cent of individual social security contribution, monthly contribution from the informal sector and others covered not more than 40 per cent.

He appealed to all those who paid VAT to use the modified invoice that included the NHIL, which would later be deducted and paid into a separate account.

Mr Sachibu further explained that there was no need to be alarmed by increases in prices due to the levy since they would make insignificant differences.