The three main revenue collection agencies mobilised a total amount of ?7.19 trillion last year and exceeded their target by ?540 billion.

They are the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Value Added Tax (VAT) Service.

CEPS collected ?4.3 trillion, exceeding the targeted revenue of ?3.9 trillion; IRS collected ?2.8 trillion, as against its targeted revenue of ?2.7 trillion, while the VAT Service collected 1.09 trillion against a target of ?1.05 trillion.

CEPS, therefore, exceeded its target by 11.5 per cent, IRS by 3 per cent and the VAT Service by 1.18 per cent.

The Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board, Mr Harry Owusu, who made this known in an interview in Accra yesterday, attributed the performance of the three revenue agencies to the restructuring of their operations that was initiated two years ago.

He said the Revenue Agencies Governing Board serves as a platform, to among others, monitor and discuss the performances of the three agencies on monthly basis. He noted that although imports were low last year, CEPS was able to exceed its target because of the tightening of internal controls and discipline.

He said anti-corruption activities were also intensified along the borders of the country and this also contributed to the improved performance of CEPS. Mr Owusu said plans are underway to recruit more people to strengthen the operations of CEPS.

He said the performance of the revenue agencies has also been enhanced because they are allowed to retain up to three per cent of the revenue they collect which is a great motivation, adding that ?revenue is at risk when motivation is low?.

?The agencies use the retained revenue to undertake institutional re-engineering to enable them perform their duties effectively and efficiently,? Mr Owusu said.

He noted that although Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is crucial in the operations of these agencies, there are only few computers in these organisations.

He said that the IRS is the least endowed in terms of the use of ICT and said the government has initiated moves to computerise the operations of the serivce.

To this end, Mr Owusu said, the government presented 30 computers to the IRS and noted that the programme is on-going. He indicated that there is a long-term strategic plan to integrate the operations to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the discharge of their mandate.

He said the use of ICT in their operations will reduce human intervention and its associated problems in revenue collection.

Mr Owusu said the targets for this year will be higher and called on workers in the three organisations to strive to improve on their output. He said the government will also create the necessary conditions that will enhance their operations.