Palace Mall’s Labone, Spintex, Atomic Roundabout, and Weija branches have been closed by the Ghana Revenue Authority for failing to comply with the authority’s E-VAT Invoicing system.
According to GRA, a select group of stores has purposefully failed to issue VAT invoices electronically when customers walk in to make purchases.
According to the GRA, the failure of these stores to follow its directive sends signals that they are under-declaring tax.
China Mall’s Weija branch has also been closed, bringing the total number of China Mall branches closed in the last 24 hours to five.
Also read: GRA closes China Mall branches due to tax compliance issues
Speaking to the media, Joseph Annan, Area Manager of GRA’s Accra central office, warned shopkeepers not to tamper with the Commissioner’s seal because it could worsen their situation.
Managers of the Palace Mall Labone branch locked themselves inside the store while observing GRA officials who were carrying out the enforcement exercise.
After several attempts by the task force, they refused to leave the premises.
The mall’s entrance has since been sealed.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner in charge of operations at the Domestic Tax Revenue Division spoke to the media and urged businesses that had yet to subscribe to the new VAT policy to do so or face the consequences.
“There are 50 taxpayers who have signed up for this project.” We’ve started in earnest, and the response has been very positive. However, for some taxpayers, the deadline has passed, and some people are still not registered in the system.”
“GRA has decided that compliance enforcement is the best way forward.” What we are doing now is closing down the shops of those taxpayers who we have engaged and who are not connected to the system. We will not allow them to be restored until they comply.”
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