GHANA
Officially known as the Republic of Ghana, Ghana is a country located in the western part of Africa covering an area of 238,535 KM² with the population of about 31 Million. Ghana is known for being the first Sub-Saharan Country to attain her independence attained in 1957 from Britain.
Ghana depends much on resources such as Gold, Cocoa and recently oil. These three are the cornerstone for Ghana’s economy. Furthermore, Ghana is a member state of the African, Caribbeanand Pacific Group of States (ACP), AU, ECOWAS as well as the UN.
Ghana has its laws, these laws regulate every aspect of day to day activities taking place in Ghana, either carried out by Native Ghanaians or Foreign nationals.
To get a clear picture of the Legal aspect of various commercial related activities, this page provides a synopsis of the same in the areas of:
Incorporation
Immagration
Residency
Tax Regime
Intellectual Property
Employment
Acquisition
Incorporation and Business Registration
The law regulating incorporation and business registration in Ghana is Companies Act, 2019 which provides for and recognizes various types of companies, to mention but a few; Companies Limited by Shares, Companies Limited by Guarantee as well as Foreign companies having their place of business/Branch in Ghana.
Registration requirements for Companies in Ghana are as follows;
i. For a Company limited by shares, the minimum number of Shareholders must be two.
ii. The applicant must have the Company registered with Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and obtain a Tax Payer Identification Number (TIN) for itself and the company secretary as the case may be.
These requirements are in addendum to other procedural requirements which are provided in details upon retaining a consultation.
For a foreign company incorporated outside the Republic of Ghana to be Registered and run business in Ghana, it must have a place of business, Branch or management in Ghana. Native Ghanaians are eligible to buy and sell shares from the Foreign company having its branch in Ghana as if it was incorporated in Ghana.
Immigration
Visiting or staying in Ghana requires approval from the responsible authorities’ i.e immigration. Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) is operating at the mandate bestowed to it by the Immigration Act,2000 and Immigration Regulations, 2009 to supervise and oversee the issuance of VISA, working permit, Residence Permit and other travel documents
VISA
The GIS issues a variety of visas. A type of visa issued to an individual foreign national depends on his nationality, the amount of time he is planning to spend in Ghana as well as the purpose for his visit.
A majority of African countries citizens and some Caribbean countries citizens are VISA exempt, they can enter and stay in Ghana without visa or may be issued ‘VISA at Arrival’ which may be obtained from the border checkpoint in the country.
Citizens of 30 African Countries are eligible to be issued VISA at arrival. VISA exempt citizens can enter and stay in the country from 60 up to 90 days and 12 months depending on their nationality.
For the citizen of the countries outside Africa, they must apply for VISA 30 days prior to their date of departure. They can apply for;
i. Work VISA
ii. Tourist VISA (Single Entry, 90 Days)
iii. Student VISA
iv. Business VISA ( Single Entry, 90 days
Residency & Work Permit
A work permit is issued by GIS for the employment of foreign national in Ghana.
Work permit is usually valid for 1 year and 6 months in special cases. Work permit provides specified information about the employer and the conditions to be met by the employee for him to stay in the country. Foreign nationals may register their business in Ghana and proceed to apply for work permit from the ministry of Interior affairs through GIS.
Work Permit can be renewed upon satisfying the necessary conditions for renewal. The fee for One year work permit is 1000 USD.
Residence Permit
A resident permit is obtained after grant of Work Permit and it also issued by GIS. Residence permits for dependents of the foreign employee covers a spouse, Children under the age of 18 and Parents above the age of 60.
ECOWAS citizen does not require a VISA to enter and stay in Ghana. However, to live and work in Ghana, they need residence and work permit.
One year residence and work permit for ECOWAS citizen costs 500 USD
Tax Regime
Ghana imposes both Direct and indirect taxes. Direct taxes are collected directly from individual’s income accruing from employment, business, dividend, interest, part time jobs, lottery winning, commission and supply of goods and services.
The rates are as shown in the figure below;
Individual Income Tax
| Activity/Source Earned from.. | Tax Rate |
| Employment | 0% up to 25% depending on the Total income per month. |
| Director | 10% |
| Interest | 8% |
| Part time Teacher/Jobs | 10% |
| Shareholder Dividend | 8% |
| Commission payable to insurance and Sales Agents | 10% |
| Lottery Agents & Receivers | 5% |
| Supply of Goods & Services | 5% |
| Rent | 8% |
| Sale/Discharge of chargeable asset | 15% |
Corporate Tax
Like many other African Countries, Ghana has adopted a classical corporate tax system taxing both the company and the shareholder. Corporate entities in Ghana are taxed at the rate of 25% at profit whereas local companies are taxed based on their global income.
Foreign companies are taxed basing on their locally generated profit. Shareholders dividend is taxed at 8% at the hand of the shareholder.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Value Added Tax is charged at the rate of 15% in Ghana. For an individual to pay tax under this category he must be registered either voluntarily or by application of law to the GRA upon meeting the Minimum threshold to be registered as VAT tax payer.
Multilateral Tax Agreements
Ghana has signed a variety of multilateral treaties regarding tax relief or double taxation with countries like Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, Singapore, Netherlands, Denmark, United Kingdom, South Africa, Mauritius, France, Germany and Switzerland. Meanwhile, the treaties with Malta and Ireland are yet to be ratified.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property in Ghana is regulated and protected by The Copyright Act, 2005, The Patents Act, 2003, The Trademark Act, 2004, The Industrial Designs Act, 2003 and Protection against Unfair competition Act, 2000. Registration of Intellectual Property in Ghana specifically Trademarks and Patents are on first to file or first to invent basis.
Upon registration, Copyright is protected for lifetime plus 70 years after the death of the author.
In Ghana, Trademarks do not expire after a set term of years thus there is no need for renewal.
Labour and Employment
Labour and Employment matters in Ghana are governed by Labour Act, 2003 and Labour regulations, 2007. There are a variety of institutions responsible for enforcement and implementation of such laws. These institutions have varying responsibilities making each of them an independent and separate institution.
They include the Labor commission, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice as well as the High Court. These institutions are there to make sure that domestic and international labor laws are complied with and justice served whenever the need arises.
Meager and Acquisition
Takeover transactions in Ghana are generally regulated by a variety of laws including but not limited to SEC Code on Takeovers, Securities Industry Act, 1993, Companies Act, 2019, Insurance Act, 2006 and Banking Act, 2004.
Merger and Acquisition are possible and operates under the mentioned laws.
FARus 