Joseph Annan, Manager of the Accra Central Area Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority, has revealed that the Legal Department is building prosecution dockets for all arrested business operators.
According to him, it takes time to build a docket, and soon all businesses arrested for failing to issue the Value Added Tax (VAT) invoices to their customers will be prosecuted.
He made the remarks in response to a question about how many businesses have been prosecuted for failing to issue tax invoices to their customers as required by law.
On September 5, 2023, the GRA Task Force conducted a swoop on 12 businesses in the Greater Accra Region that refused to issue tax invoices at Legion.
The 12 businesses are Hansen Decor (selective issuance), Boost Electronics (non-issuance), De’Lish Restaurant (own issuance), Heiress and Flair (own issuance), Relay Express (non-issuance), and Julie-Joan (non-issuance), and House of Fabrics (non-issuance).
The rest are Done Chebe Kreations (non-issue), Fresh Angels ala Suit Republic (non-issuance), Gifred Enterprise (selective issue), Milan Star Fabrics (not registered), and About Office Ghana (non-issuance).
They are part of about 70 business operators who have been arrested since the beginning of May this year after it was discovered through undercover investigations that those businesses were not issuing VAT invoices.
He explained that the operators’ actions were in violation of Section 41 of the VAT Act, which requires registered businesses to issue VAT invoices at all times.
He stated that the arrested individuals would be turned over to police, investigated, and charged for their actions.
Mr. Annan stated that officers from the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigations Department would take the statements of those arrested, after which the preemptive assessment would be established and the businesses would be required to pay immediately.
When asked whether the GRA has dragged any offenders to court and the outcome of the court action, he said, ”When it comes to legal issues, it takes time to build a docket because you want to be sure that you take a case to court and you don’t lose the case. So it is a gradual process, and we will surely get there. As I speak to you now, we have not taken a case to court yet, but we are working the dockets of the suspects”.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
