Aflao, June 18, GNA -The Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Value Added Tax Service (VAT) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are to be integrated under one body to be known as the Revenue Agencies Authority.

To this end all transfers, promotions and recruitment within the three agencies have been frozen. Mr. Salas Mensah, Executive Secretary of the Revenue Agencies Governing Board announced this at a briefing of CEPS personnel in Aflao on Thursday.

He said the measure was aimed at modernizing tax administration in the country to ensure efficiency. He said the proposed Revenue Agencies Authority would be headed by a Commissioner General to be assisted by three commissioners with designated functions. Mr Mensah said a number of revenue personnel would be understudying similar Authorities in Rwanda, Uganda and Liberia as part of the rationalization. He assured the personnel that the exercise would not lead to job cuts.

"Government is aware CEPS needs extra hands and will allow for recruitment after the exercise," Mr Mensah said. The welfare of personnel, he said, was of prime concern to government and would do all within its power to improve on it to enable staff give off their best. Mr. Mensah inspected work on the Aflao Border Complex, interacted with VAT Service and IRS staff and paid a courtesy call on Togbe Amenya Fiti V, Paramount Chief of Aflao Traditional Area. Mr. Emmanuel Doku, Commissioner of CEPS said computerization of custom procedures to facilitate trade and block revenue leakages was at an advanced stage, with Aflao, Akanu and Kpoglo already computerized. He urged personnel of the Service to work extra hard to achieve its revenue of GH¢2,853 million set for this year. Togbe Fiti appealed to government to cede between one and ten per cent of the revenue collected by the Aflao sector of the Service to enable the traditional authority undertake to some developmental activities.