GRA officials grab a Chinese manager during one of the swoop exercises
THE GHANA Revenue Authority (GRA) recently organised unannounced visits to some stone quarry sites in the Shai Osudoku District to whip non-VAT compliant business entities into line.
The exercise, which was also aimed at shoring up revenue to meet the GRA’s GH¢80.3 billion tax target for the year, led to the arrest of managers of some six stone quarry firms including three Chinese firms – Top Stone Quarry, Uniafrika and Massaike & Sabbagh Company Ltd, all located at the Shai Osudoku District Assembly.
According to the authority, the ongoing activity forms part of series of enforcements to be carried out before the end of the year, revealing the firms were also cited for various infractions including non-issuance and selective issuance of VAT receipts.
Area Enforcement Manager of Accra Central, GRA, Joseph Annang, who led the exercise, said the visit to the sites was an extension of what begun in September this year, adding the exercise would be carried out in the hospitality sector during Christmas.
“Compliance really improved when we started in September and that has been evident in our collections. This latest exercise which puts focus on quarries across the country, is an integral part of the national economy. We have moved our focus from commerce to the quarry sector. Our test purchases have indicated that most operators at quarries do not issue the VAT invoice,” he said.
Some items intercepted at the sites were idle VAT invoices, waybills, company invoices, computer system units, laptops and company documents.
The GRA indicated that these items would assist in carrying out full scale investigations to ascertain the amount and extent of revenue loss.
Meanwhile, Ag. Head of Operations at the GRA, Kwesi Eghan, said enforcement through invigilation and mystery shopping or test purchases, were key strategies that the authority would employ.
“These are compliance tools for revenue collection. Since September, we have invigilated about 175 taxpayers. Taxpayers are our stakeholders and we operate with them on the premise of trust,” he said.
“These are plans to meet our target and to deepen the country’s growth prospect towards revenue mobilisation” he added.