Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has revealed that since October 20, customers have been reimbursed of their 9% deductions supposed to be for Communication Service Tax (CST). 

At a press conference to highlight the financial returns in government's Common Platform project Thursday, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful noted that after the upfront CST deduction, the telecommunication companies send a notification of a refund to affected customers.

“I am sure that you can all verify that,” she said.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta in the Mid-year Supplementary Budget announced an increase in the CST from 6 to 9 per cent.

He said the increase was to help develop the foundation for a viable technology ecosystem in the county.

Telecom firms on October 1, 2019, begun charging customers the revised CST directly. 

The Communications Minister later in October then directed the mobile telecommunication companies to stop deducting the tax upfront, stressing that it was making the government unpopular.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said the upfront deductions seemed to her like a deliberate attempt by the telcos to make the government unpopular.

Following this, the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) agreed to stop the upfront deduction and apply it through tariff adjustment.

Madam Owusu-Ekuful said at the conference that the telcos have been given up to November 26, 2019, to configure their system and fully halt upfront charge deductions.