On Friday, operators of eight cold stores at the Takyi Yard Cold Stores Enclave in Tema closed their stores. They ran away before officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), undergoing a Value Added Tax (VAT) inspection exercise, arrived at the premises.
The VAT task force was in the area to conduct the exercise following intel that the operators, though registered to issue VAT receipts, were not giving them to customers.
The busy enclave, usually characterized by a brisk business on Friday, turned into a ghost town when news went around that the GRA task force was conducting a VAT invigilation exercise.
Earlier, the task force locked up The Underbridge, a famous event center at East Legon, Accra, for failure to register and issue VAT invoices to its customers.
Also, the operators of Josnartey Ventures, Perez Frozen Foods, and Isaac Glavi Trading Enterprise, all at Tema, were arrested and taken to the head office to answer the reason they failed to issue VAT invoices to customers.
Sales and receipt books that belong to the operators were confiscated as well for VAT assessment.
Area Enforcement Manager of Accra Central, GRA, Mr. Joseph Annan, who led the exercise, said the Taskforce would review its invigilation strategy in areas where business operators absconded to ensure they all comply with the VAT provisions.
He also told the business operators that were arrested would be investigated and charged for their actions.
Mr. Joseph stated that they would be assessed and investigated to pay the taxes lost before a fulGhanal audit was undertaken to determine the impact of their actions on the levies they were expected to pay.
He noted that the GRA legal unit would then prosecute them for not complying with the tax law.
If the VAT is under-declared, other taxes will be affected. The investigations are going to help determine their actions' impact so the expected sanctions are applied.
He urged businesses that registered for VAT to issue the VAT invoice all the time as required by law to avoid facing sanctions and prosecutions.
He stated, "We are in town enforcing the issuance of VAT invoices. So, I urge all businesses to do the right thing expected of them. The exercise will be continued until all businesses comply with the law."
Mr. Annan advised the public to demand the VAT invoice anytime they make purchases to support the government's efforts to raise revenue.
