NIA disconnects GRA from identity verification service over GHS376 million debt
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has cut off the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from its Identity Verification Service (IVS) platform over an unpaid debt of more than GH¢376 million.
The disconnection took effect on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, after what the NIA described as repeated, unsuccessful attempts to secure payment or a formal commitment from the GRA.
The IVS platform allows real-time identity verification using the Ghana Card database and is widely used by both public and private institutions. The NIA’s move has sparked concerns about potential disruptions to services that rely on the system for authentication.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Williams Ampomah Darlas, Head of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, expressed frustration at the GRA’s lack of engagement.
“We have written to them [GRA] countless times, but we didn’t get a response from them. We decided that we will escalate it.
“We even went to the extent of escalating it to Parliament… We waited for a while, and GRA was not responding, so we gave them our last notice that was on July 29 to show commitment other than that we will block them from our system. We didn’t hear from them, so effective August 5, we blocked them,” he said.
Mr. Darlas further revealed that several other institutions including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Lands Commission, and Hubtel had been accessing NIA data through the GRA without authorisation, in violation of data protection laws.
“What is disheartening is that there are other institutions that are also sourcing data from the GRA, especially ECG, Lands Commission, and Hubtel, which breach the law. And we have reached out to them.
“You have taken our data, you are not paying what you are supposed to pay to us, and you are giving the data to other institutions, breaching the law with impunity. We got to where we are now as a result of non-compliance. It saddens our hearts because we understand the implications of this. But as an Authority, we also need to work; this is affecting our operational abilities,” he added.
The NIA is calling for urgent government intervention and accountability to restore compliance and ensure the continued operation of a system central to national identity verification.
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