TaxLawGHby MSL Business School
MSL Business SchoolCross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026
Ghana Digital Services and E-Commerce VAT
How the 2025 VAT Act applies to non-resident digital suppliers, Ghana customers, online marketplaces, imported services, returns and input-tax treatment.
Published by MSL Business School.
MSL Business School — Cross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026 at a glance
Controlling answer
A non-resident digital supplier can have Ghana VAT duties without a Ghana office.
A non-resident that makes a taxable supply of telecommunications or electronic commerce for use or enjoyment in Ghana must register under section 15 unless the supply is made through a VAT-registered agent. For a digital service, Ghana is the place of supply when any two statutory connection indicators are present.
Cross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026
Act 1151 expressly brings digital services into electronic commerce
Online social platforms and related digital access or services.
Remote computing, hosting, storage and similar cloud-delivered services.
Video or audio streaming supplied digitally.
Online marketplace operations that connect or facilitate users and suppliers.
Advertisements and campaign services delivered through digital channels.
Software, updates and distance maintenance of programs or equipment.
Digital services within the statutory virtual-asset-management category.
Digital services within the statutory digital-asset-management category.
Electronic commerce is broader than the listed digital-service categories and includes business transactions conducted through electronic transmission over a communications network.
Cross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026
Any two of four indicators place a digital service in Ghana
| Indicator | Evidence to test |
|---|---|
| Recipient residence | The recipient is a resident person. |
| Payment origin | Payment originates from a Ghana payment platform or a Ghana-registered or authorised financial institution. |
| Address or connection | The recipient has a Ghana business, residential or postal address, internet proxy address or phone number. |
| Terminal location | The service is received on a computer, tablet, mobile phone or similar terminal located in Ghana. |
Evidence design: retain at least two independently reliable indicators for the transaction. A single billing address or payment marker is not enough where section 42(9) requires two circumstances.
Cross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026
Registration under section 15 follows the taxable supply, not the ordinary goods threshold
- 01Map the supply
Identify the service, contractual supplier, marketplace role and customer.
- 02Test use or enjoyment and place of supply
Apply the section 42 indicators to digital services and the applicable rule to other electronic commerce.
- 03Determine the registration route
A non-resident supplier registers directly unless the supply is made through a VAT-registered agent.
- 04Charge the current stack
Apply 15% VAT, 2.5% NHIL and 2.5% GETFund to a standard-rated supply under the 2026 framework.
- 05Preserve transaction data
Retain customer-location indicators, consideration, currency conversion, invoices, refunds and return reconciliations.
No ordinary threshold shortcut: section 15 requires registration where the non-resident makes a taxable supply. Do not apply the GHS 750,000 goods threshold to override this specific rule.
Cross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026
The Ghana customer's treatment depends on registration, use and documentation
| Situation | VAT control |
|---|---|
| Non-resident registered under section 15 | The supplier accounts for the Ghana VAT and levies under the non-resident return framework. |
| Resident taxable customer | Input-tax recovery follows Act 1151 and any procedure determined by the Commissioner-General for a resident using a digital service from a non-resident. |
| Non-resident supplier input tax | A section 15 registrant is not entitled to deduct input tax for the supply of a digital service. |
| Other imported service | The recipient may have an import-of-services declaration and payment duty, subject to the Act's specific exceptions. |
| Marketplace transaction | Identify whether the platform is principal, agent or payment intermediary before assigning invoice and return responsibility. |
Income-tax withholding, permanent-establishment and transfer-pricing questions are separate from VAT and should be tested independently.
Cross-border digital VAT from 1 January 2026
Section 15 suppliers file and pay by the last day of the following month
A taxable person registered under section 15 must submit the return and pay the tax due by the last day of the month immediately following the reporting month, whether or not tax is payable. For this rule, the last day includes a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
Where VAT is payable on another import of services, section 61 generally requires the liable person to submit a service-import declaration and pay within twenty-one days after the tax period in which the services were imported.
Frequently asked questions
Ghana Digital Services and E-Commerce VAT questions
Which law governs Ghana digital-services VAT in 2026?
The Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151), which became operative on 1 January 2026.
Must a non-resident digital supplier have a Ghana office before VAT applies?
No. Section 15 can require registration for a taxable supply used or enjoyed in Ghana without a Ghana office.
How is a digital service located in Ghana?
Any two of the four indicators in section 42(9) must be present: recipient residence, Ghana payment origin, a Ghana address or connection, and terminal location.
What is the standard 2026 VAT stack?
15% VAT, 2.5% NHIL and 2.5% GETFund, giving a 20% combined charge on the common tax-exclusive base.
When does a section 15 supplier file and pay?
By the last day of the month immediately following the reporting month, including where that last day is a weekend or public holiday.
MSL Business School legal reference map
Primary authority and official sources
- Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151)Open source →
- GRA VAT reforms and current ratesOpen source →
- GRA non-resident digital-services registrationOpen source →
- GRA e-commerce filing portalOpen source →
Institutional publisher
TaxLawGH is MSL Business School's Ghana tax education platform.
MSL Business School publishes TaxLawGH to make Ghana's tax law easier to find, understand and apply.
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