Business documents in Ghana

Business registration in Ghana is handled by the Office of the Registrar of Companies, which took over the companies function of the former Registrar-General’s Department. Sole proprietors register a business name; partners register a partnership; anyone seeking limited liability incorporates a company. Act 992 recognises companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee (which cannot issue shares or pay dividends), unlimited companies and external companies — foreign companies registering a place of business in Ghana.

Registration is done online through the ORC portal. A company limited by shares needs a reserved name, a constitution or the statutory default, details of directors, members and a qualified company secretary, and its proposed stated capital. Directors, shareholders and officers must each have a TIN, which for Ghanaians is the Ghana Card PIN. A company limited by shares needs at least two directors, at least one of whom is ordinarily resident in Ghana, while a single person may hold all the shares. Section 211 of Act 992 sets out who may act as company secretary — for example a lawyer, a chartered accountant or someone with a relevant qualification — so a director can only double as secretary if they meet those criteria.

Beneficial ownership is a filing in its own right. Under Act 992 the ORC keeps a central register of beneficial owners; anyone holding 10% or more directly or indirectly (5% in high-risk sectors) must be disclosed, changes must be reported within 30 days, and annual returns have included beneficial ownership data since 31 March 2021. Keep the incorporation certificate, the company’s constitution and the latest annual return on file — Ghanaian banks and procurement entities routinely ask for all three.

Foreign participation brings an extra layer: businesses with foreign shareholders also deal with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), whose capital and registration requirements should be checked directly with GIPC before incorporation.

Every business needs a GRA TIN. For individuals the Ghana Card PIN is the TIN; companies and other legal persons receive a GRA-issued TIN, which the TIN centre co-located with the ORC can issue as part of registration. Put the TIN on every invoice, quotation and receipt, and ask business customers for theirs.

Under Act 1151, the registration threshold for businesses dealing in goods rose from GH₵200,000 to GH₵750,000 of annual taxable supplies. Service providers have no turnover threshold and register once they begin taxable activity. The standard VAT rate is 15%; the NHIL and GETFund levies are 2.5% each, charged on the same base, and both are now deductible as input tax. The COVID-19 levy has been abolished, and the 3% flat rate for retailers and 5% rate for immovable property have gone — former flat-rate businesses now charge the standard rate. VAT returns and payment are due by the last working day of the month following the return period.

GRA’s invoicing rules are practical: NHIL, GETFund and VAT must appear on separate lines with their total, and where a price is tax-inclusive it goes in a ‘total tax inclusive value’ field. GRA’s Guidelines on the Certified Invoicing System (E-VAT) list the content of an invoice — the supplier’s name, address and TIN; date and time; a sequential invoice number; the customer’s name and TIN where the customer is a taxable person; a description, quantity and unit; the levy and VAT rates and amounts; and the totals. E-VAT invoices also carry a QR code, a tamper-proof signature and a timestamp, and buyers can scan the code to verify the invoice.

E-VAT is free: GRA can install its own invoicing software for VAT-registered businesses that have none, or integrate with an existing billing system. It is being extended to VAT-registered taxpayers in phases set by the Commissioner-General, with notified businesses invited to onboarding and training. Separately, the Taxation (Use of Fiscal Electronic Device) Act, 2018 (Act 966) allows a fiscal receipt from an approved device to serve as the tax invoice, and buyers must give their TIN to claim input tax on it.

In Ghana a ‘pro-forma’ is often the first document a customer asks for — institutional buyers, NGOs and government agencies use it to raise internal approvals and payment vouchers. Treat it as a priced offer: state validity, delivery time, whether prices are in cedis or dollars, and whether the 20% VAT and levies are included. Once approved, the buyer issues a Local Purchase Order (LPO), which your final invoice should quote.

Goods leave with a waybill or delivery note signed by the receiving officer; together with the LPO and invoice, that signed waybill is what most accounts departments need before processing payment. Because GRA treats a sales receipt lacking the buyer’s full details, including TIN, as unsuitable for input tax deduction, business customers increasingly ask for a proper VAT invoice rather than a till receipt.

Receipts still matter for cash, mobile money and bank transfers. Record the payment method and reference — MoMo transaction IDs are a common audit trail — and the invoice being settled. Credit notes are used for returns and price reductions; keep them linked to the original invoice number so the VAT and levy adjustments are traceable.

The Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) requires a written contract for employment of six months or more (section 12), and section 13 requires the employer to give the worker a written statement of the main terms within two months of the start date, signed by both parties. Section 17 sets the default notice: one month for contracts of three years or more, two weeks for shorter contracts and seven days for week-to-week work, always in writing. An offer letter followed by a signed contract covering these points is standard practice.

Social security starts with the first employee. Under the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act 766) the employer contributes 13% and the worker 5.5% of basic salary — 18.5% in total. Of that, 13.5% goes to SSNIT for the first tier (with 2.5% passed on to the National Health Insurance Authority) and 5% goes to a privately managed second-tier occupational scheme. The employer must register with SSNIT to receive an establishment number, submit the monthly contribution report and pay the tier-one amount within 14 days after the end of the month; late payment attracts a 3% monthly penalty.

Payslips should show basic salary, allowances, the 5.5% SSNIT deduction and PAYE, which is deducted and paid to GRA. When staff leave, Ghanaian employers provide a letter of service or experience letter, and embassies and banks commonly ask employees for an introductory or employment verification letter on company letterhead.

Commercial agreements in Ghana — service contracts, distribution and agency agreements, NDAs — are enforceable when signed, but the Stamp Duty Act, 2005 (Act 689) adds a practical step. Stamp duty is a tax on documents: agreements, leases, mortgages, guarantees, share transfers and powers of attorney fall within its schedule, with ad valorem rates and fixed amounts. GRA warns that an unstamped or under-stamped document will not be admitted in evidence in a Ghanaian court, so stamp contracts you may need to enforce. GRA can now accept particulars of an instrument electronically and issue the stamp on payment.

The Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772) gives legal recognition to electronic records and signatures, so e-signed service agreements and NDAs between businesses are common. Land transactions, powers of attorney and documents for registries still tend to need wet signatures and, where required, stamping before registration.

Memoranda of understanding are popular with development partners and public institutions. Make clear which clauses (confidentiality, exclusivity, governing law) are intended to bind and which are statements of intent.

GRA’s Customs Division clears goods through the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), Ghana’s trade single window, introduced in June 2020 to replace the earlier PAARS and GCMS systems. Each consignment receives a Unique Consignment Reference so it can be tracked from declaration to exit gate.

For imports, GRA lists the documents a clearing agent needs: the bill of lading or waybill, an attested invoice, a packing list, the Import Declaration Form (IDF) from the Ministry of Trade, the importer’s TIN or Ghana Card PIN, and any permits from bodies such as the Food and Drugs Authority or Ghana Standards Authority. After classification and valuation in ICUMS, duties are paid at a participating bank and the consignment is routed red (physical examination), yellow (scan) or green (release).

Exporters prepare a commercial invoice, packing list and transport document, plus a certificate of origin when the buyer wants preferential treatment under ECOWAS, the AfCFTA or a programme such as AGOA. Ask your clearing agent or the Ghana Export Promotion Authority which issuing body and form applies to your product and destination before you ship — mismatched descriptions or values between the invoice, packing list and declaration are the most common reason consignments are held.

The Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915) requires taxable persons to keep records of receipts, payments, income, expenditure, assets and liabilities for at least six years. That includes sales invoices and E-VAT records, purchase invoices supporting input tax claims, receipts, payroll and SSNIT reports, and import documents. GRA can pursue unpaid tax for considerably longer in some cases, so many firms keep core ledgers beyond the minimum.

Corporate income tax returns are due within four months of the financial year-end, and the tax year is the calendar year; companies with a different year-end are taxed on the accounting period that ends during the year. Keep invoices in English and show the cedi value of foreign-currency transactions, with the exchange rate used, so the figures reconcile with your VAT returns.

Many old templates still carry a 1% COVID-19 levy line or calculate VAT on a levy-inclusive amount — both are wrong from 1 January 2026. Recalculate so that NHIL, GETFund and VAT each apply to the same taxable value, and remove flat-rate wording if you were on the old 3% scheme.

Rates, thresholds and E-VAT rollout phases are set by GRA notices, so check the GRA website or speak to your tax adviser before relying on any figure on this page for a specific transaction.