Volta Region to step up VAT collection

The Volta Region Value Added Tax (VAT) Office collected 900 million cedis out of a targeted 1.2 billion cedis for 2002, Mr Emmanuel Akpaku, Regional VAT Head told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday.

He blamed the shortfall on the "normally dull business activity" in the region and consumer apathy.

Mr Akpaku, however, said the 2003 target of 7.4 billion cedis was achievable due to the listing of more companies and new strategies to prevent leakages in collections.

Giving a scenario of VAT related business situation in the region, he said about 70 per cent of the around 500 businesses registered to collect VAT were mainly small communication centres.

Mr Akpaku said the trend of operation of these centres was that they folded up in no time after being set up making monitoring by his Office difficult.

The VAT Regional Head also blamed government agencies for dealing with non-VAT collecting businesses despite a directive from the Regional Minister to the contrary.

He said often departments, including district assemblies, got services on credit and also asked for rebates thereby weakening their position to insist on VAT receipts.

Mr Akpaku expressed regret about the trend among small-scale service providers to drop VAT components of cost in their invoices so as to enhance their competitiveness.

He commended the Keta Government Hospital for insisting that all companies they dealt with paid VAT on their service charges.

Mr Akpaku said the VAT Regional Office was considering writing to the Regional Minister to order the enforcement of the earlier directive for all government agencies to deal only with VAT collecting suppliers.

He said this year "Test Purchase" measures would be stepped up and VAT evaders would be prosecuted.