Ten state institutions owe the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) more than GH¢3.016 billion in outstanding taxes, according to the Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana: Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies (MDAs) for the Year Ended 31 December 2025.
The Auditor-General disclosed that the outstanding tax liabilities formed part of GH¢4.80 billion in tax irregularities identified during the audit. The tax irregularities also accounted for the largest share of the GH¢5.266 billion in financial irregularities recorded across Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies (MDAs) for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The report stated: “We reviewed the debt stocks of the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) and noted that, as at the end of the 2024 year of assessment, 10 State institutions owed taxes amounting to GH¢3,016,899,115.24.”
According to the Auditor-General, the unpaid taxes remained outstanding despite efforts by the Ghana Revenue Authority to recover part of the debt.
The report further disclosed that 7,970 VAT-registered taxpayers failed to remit GH¢701,738,036.09 in Value Added Tax (VAT) collected on behalf of the State.
It also identified 813 taxpayers who failed to pay the Growth and Sustainability Levy, resulting in outstanding liabilities of GH¢754,057,595.63. The report further cited outstanding customs-related taxes among the tax irregularities recorded during the audit.
To recover the outstanding tax liabilities, the Auditor-General recommended that the Commissioner of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division (DTRD) of the Ghana Revenue Authority intensifies debt recovery efforts.
The report stated: “We recommended that the Commissioner (DTRD), deploys debt recovery procedures to obligate the taxpayers to settle the outstanding taxes owed by the institutions involved.”
Apart from the tax irregularities, the Auditor-General also uncovered cash irregularities involving payments made without the required supporting documents.
According to the report, GH¢285,762,655.55 was paid without payment vouchers and other supporting documents, contrary to the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) and the Public Financial Management Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378).
The Auditor-General recommended that the affected institutions produce all payment vouchers and supporting documents for audit verification.
The report stated that where management fails to produce the required documents, the amounts involved should be recovered from the officers responsible for authorising or making the payments.
The report was submitted to Parliament in accordance with Article 187 of the 1992 Constitution and the Audit Service Act, 2000 (Act 584) after an examination of the accounts of Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies for the year ended December 31, 2025. It urged public institutions to implement its recommendations to strengthen compliance with the country’s public financial management laws and improve accountability.
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