Telecommunications giant, MTN Ghana is preparing a critical system upgrade as the country enters the first week of 2026, aligning its digital infrastructure with the government’s newly approved National Value Added Tax (VAT) reform tariffs.
In a formal advisory to subscribers, the company announced a temporary service interruption scheduled for the early hours of Friday, January 2, 2026.
The planned downtime is directly linked to adjustments required under the revised VAT regime, which recalibrates pricing structures across telecommunications services nationwide.
According to MTN, the system-wide maintenance will run from midnight to 4:00 a.m., a window deliberately chosen to minimise disruption to daytime economic activity.
“There is a scheduled maintenance planned for January 2, 2026, from 12:00 am to 04:00 am in preparation for the new VAT reform tariffs,” the company said in its notice.
During the four-hour period, platforms used for retail transactions will be unavailable. MTN cautioned that subscribers will be unable to purchase airtime or data bundles across all recharge channels, including Mobile Money top-ups via *170#, the myMTN App, Electronic Voucher Distributors, and third-party banking applications.
While the advisory did not indicate that ongoing voice calls or existing data bundles would be disconnected, users have been warned that real-time balance updates and automated bundle renewals, including Mashup services, may be temporarily suspended until the system upgrade is completed.
The VAT reform forms part of a broader government effort to streamline revenue mobilisation and improve compliance in the taxation of digital and telecom services.
For market leaders such as MTN, aligning billing systems with the new statutory requirements is critical to avoiding pricing distortions and potential compliance risks once the new tax rates take effect.
The company says the upgrade will ensure that from the start of business on January 2, all charges on its network accurately reflect the revised VAT structure.
Acknowledging the inconvenience to night-shift workers, travellers and early-morning commuters, MTN appealed for patience and cooperation during the maintenance window.
To minimise disruption, the company advised subscribers to purchase airtime and data bundles ahead of the midnight cut-off, verify that they have sufficient active balances to last through the early morning hours, and make advance arrangements for any dependants who may require emergency top-ups during the downtime.
MTN said services are expected to be fully restored by 4:00 a.m., allowing customers to transact normally under the new VAT framework.