The Ghana Revenue Authority has handed two Chinese firms to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department, CID, for allegedly issuing fake Value Added Tax invoices.
The two Chinese firms, Hua Feng Trading, and Zencsi Investment Company are dealers of footwear and accessories in the Central Business District of Accra.
According to a report by myjoyonline.com, the two firms were discovered during an invigilation exercise by the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The Ghana Revenue Authority had earlier announced that sellers who issued fake VAT invoices or do not issue VAT invoices to customers are liable to face at least 5 years in jail.
The area enforcement manager for the Accra Central at GRA, Joseph Annan, told journalists after the operation that they found the shops issuing fake receipts to consumers.
“Our team this dawn was dispatched to the Accra Central Business enclave and we chanced upon these taxpayers issuing their own VAT receipt for their customers. And it is an infraction on our tax laws,” he is quoted by myjoyonline.com.
“We are immediately going to asses them, preempt and charge VAT for them to pay with a penalty. This is part of an invigilation exercise being carried by the Authority to enforce compliance and deal with recalcitrant taxpayers,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the GRA locked up a facility at East Legon, De Icon, for operating without registering with the Authority for tax payments.
“We have information that this facility has been operating since December 2021 without the necessary tax requirements. So, our assignment here is to lock the place until the right thing is done. They have to provide some documents so we can use it to track the business they have done and apply the charges,” Chief Revenue Officer at the office of the Commissioner General, Nathaniel Tetteh told journalists.
