GRA officials carrying out national invoice invigilation exercise in Accra
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Thursday arrested three people for non-issuance of the Value Added Tax (VAT) invoice for registered VAT businesses and other irregularities.
The arrested individuals are workers of Champion Dishes in Adabraka, Grace Has Found Us, and Celebs Non-Alcoholic Drinks in Dansoman.
Head of Enforcement Management, GRA Accra Central, Joseph Annan, indicated that the exercise is to complement the National Invoice Invigilation Exercise aimed at fishing out companies who refuse to issue the VAT invoice.
“The authority has stepped up its game in arresting tax defaulters. We had to send our officials to various companies to purchase their services. Upon thorough investigation we had to arrest them for non-issuance of VAT invoice” he said.
At Champion Dishes, a restaurant in Adakraka, the officers had to seize a laptop, receipts, and other documentation to aid in the investigation process.
According to the authority, the defaulters have violated the Value Added Tax Act, 2013 (Act 870) and were therefore handed over to the Ghana Police Service for investigation.
“As Tax administrators, we will also access them and apply all the penalties and interest that are applicable to serve as a deterrent to other companies violating the acts,” he said.
Mr. Annan further stated that the GRA would perform a thorough assessment of the document and other gadgets retrieved from the companies and also recommend full audits to investigate whether they are engaged in other tax irregularities.
The action by the GRA is to ensure that all revenues due the state through taxes are retrieved from businesses operating in the country.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke