GRA to clamp down on tax defaulters

The Ghana Revenue Authority will from Monday, September 23, embark on a tax compliance exercise to clamp down on corporate institutions and individuals that reneged on their tax obligations.

The exercise, which is to be carried out in Accra by the authority’s revenue mobilisation task force is to enable them to collect taxes that were overdue while ensuring compliance by businesses to shore up revenue.

Mr Ken Tweneboah Koduah, the Coordinator of the taskforce said this at a briefing on Wednesday after the task force embarked on a similar exercise to identify and remind tax defaulters.

This, he said was to enable the institution to check whether such businesses were operating within the confines of the laws of the authority.

This included; identifying corporate organisations, which were issuing different VAT invoices other than that of the Commissioner-General, to check the compliance level of businesses to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE), filing of their VAT returns, among others.

Mr Tweneboah Koduah said the authority was hoping to accrue GHc 2300million in Customer Revenue as well as to collect GHC 1300million in Domestic Tax Revenue generation through the exercise.

“Today’s exercise was a mild one, just to acquaint ourselves with the actual issues on the ground. The enforcement, however, will start next week and businesses and individuals who have defaulted in paying their taxes would be forced to pay”.

He said the task force would soon go after Ministries, Departments and Agencies, who were withholding taxes paid by Contractors, suppliers and consultants that were supposed to be repaid to the authority.

“We will later go after the Ministries, Departments and Agencies who are withholding taxes collected from contractors, suppliers and consultants which are supposed to be paid to GRA, but have not been paid. These monies belong to the GRA and are supposed to be paid on behalf these people”, he said.

Touching on the day’s exercise, the task force identified businesses which were operating without proper registration documents from the GRA, issuance of invoices not generated by the Commissioner-General, while others could not produce any of the required documents due to the absence of the accountant.

The task force dubbed “Operation Collect, Name and Shame” was inaugurated on September 5 this year tasked to collect taxes that are overdue and publish in the media the names of businesses that are proving recalcitrant to settle their tax debt.

The exercise is expected to continue on Thursday and Friday.