The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has sealed four companies operating in Accra and Tema over tax compliance infractions.
The companies are Soul Restaurant, located at East Legon; Janel Spaces, a property management company also at East Legon; Rision Industry Limited, a producer of roofing nails located at Spintex; and Chang Shang, a dealer in hardware tools located at Tema.
Mr Joseph Adjeikwei Annan, Assistant Commissioner in charge of Accra Area Enforcement at the GRA, said the exercise formed part of an intensified nationwide compliance drive to ensure that businesses met their tax obligations.
He said Soul Restaurant was cited for generating computerised invoices without authorisation, filing returns without remitting taxes, and under-declaration.
Mr Annan said the restaurant operated in both Koforidua and Accra, but was registered with a tax office in Koforidua.
“They are not paying the tax as expected. They have significant tax liabilities to clear,” he said.
He said the Authority had conducted an audit of the company’s financial records, but the operators had been evasive.
Touching on Janel Spaces, Mr Annan said the company was not registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) but was issuing its own VAT invoices using a Tax Identification Number.
He said Rision Industry Limited was cited for issuing selective tax invoices and under-declaration of tax returns
Mr Annan said Chang Shang was charged with non-issuance of VAT invoices, explaining that the company had been selling goods but failed to issue tax invoices in most instances.
He expressed concern about landlords renting residential properties to foreigners to operate businesses without complying with legal requirements.
Mr Annan said the facility occupied by Chang Shang was in a residential property unknown to the Authority, thereby facilitating tax evasion.
He stressed that keeping proper records was a legal requirement under Ghana’s tax laws, and failure to do so constituted a serious offence.
Mr Annan said the affected businesses would remain closed until they submitted their sales records to the Authority.
He cautioned that tampering with GRA seals attracted severe penalties, adding that enforcement actions could extend to arrests and prosecution.
Mr Annan warned that the exercise would continue across the Accra area and beyond until compliance improved and urged all businesses to regularise their tax affairs.
He appealed to the public not to shield tax offenders, stressing that tax compliance was a shared civic responsibility essential for national development.
SOURCE: CITINEWSROOM
