Shutdown Businesses To Reopen Once Connected To E-VAT system – GRA enforcement manager

The Enforcement manager of the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Accra Central office, Joseph Annan, says locked-up businesses will be reopened once they connect to the authority’s E-VAT Invoicing system.

Some branches of the China and Palace mall have been shut down by the enforcement team of the GRA for non-compliance with the authority’s E-VAT invoicing system.

In an interview with Citi news, Mr. Joseph Annan said; “All we need is to get their system hooked up to ours so that we can get a real-time recording of their sales at our end. That is all we are asking for.

“Once they do that, we will open up for them because, after all, we need revenue and that is what we are seeking to achieve.”

Fifty companies were selected to be integrated to the E-VAT system that will certify all invoices and give real-time reporting of sales

The deadline for this process was October 1.

Though these companies had some concerns with the system, Mr. Annan noted that “those concerns have been addressed.”

Thus, he said the companies were deliberately avoiding the GRA system.

“We have engaged them for a month, and it is like some of them deliberately do not want to connect to our system,” Mr. Annan said.

He was speaking after the Labone, Spintex, Atomic roundabout and Weija branches of Palace Mall were closed.

Five branches of China Mall were also closed down between Monday and Tuesday.

The Authority rolled out the e-invoicing system for VAT collectors from October 1, 2022, to 600 large taxpayers that generate more than 90 percent of VAT revenue.

Unlike the manual system, the e-invoicing system allows the GRA to monitor live transactions in companies where it has been deployed, thereby making it impossible for taxpayers to either under-invoice or avoid the payment of VAT.