By Edward Dankwah, GNA
Accra, May 21, GNA – Mr Joseph Adjeikwei Annan, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Accra Area Enforcement at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has warned businesses against the selective issuance of VAT receipts, stressing that the practice undermined tax compliance and revenue mobilisation efforts.
He said the GRA had intensified field operations across parts of Accra to monitor compliance with VAT regulations and other tax obligations.
Speaking during an enforcement and compliance exercise, Mr Annan disclosed that several businesses were found engaging in selective issuance of receipts, while others failed to keep proper records required under the law.
Officials visited Strong Machine Company Limited on Spintex Road, where records and machines were retrieved for further assessment over suspected tax irregularities.
At Airport Residential Area, the team also inspected Bayu Villa Restaurant, where receipts and invoices were allegedly being issued in Chinese instead of English.
Mr Annan explained that the Revenue Administration Act required all official business records, including invoices and receipts, to be kept in English to enable tax officers properly verify transactions.
He stressed that no company had been granted special dispensation to issue receipts in foreign languages and urged all businesses to comply with Ghana’s tax laws.
The enforcement team also visited Nyankonton Building Materials and Hardware Enterprise at Oyarifa, dealers in nails and iron rods, where no records were found during the inspection.
Mr Annan said the premises had been sealed, with a Chinese representative of the Company arrested while further investigations were underway.
“At Stone Depot, a marble dealer also located at Oyarifa, we found out that they were compliant with the electronic VAT (E-VAT) system after verified receipts generated through their platform,” he added.
He explained that the Authority would continue conducting pre-emptive assessments and audits to determine the extent of undeclared taxes among non-compliant businesses.
Mr Annan encouraged businesses yet to adopt the E-VAT system to do so, describing it as an important tool for improving tax compliance and monitoring sales transactions.
He, however, indicated that physical inspections and manual checks would continue despite the implementation of E-VAT to ensure businesses did not operate unregistered points of sale outside the system.
“All this is to help improve VAT compliance, because once you get the VAT right, the other taxes also fall into place,” he stressed.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah