Company closed for evading tax since 2014

The Ghana Revenue Authority has closed down a toiletry company accused of evading taxes for six years.

Further controversially, Everyday Tissue Manufacturing Limited was also found to be using textbooks meant for junior and senior high schools for the production of toilet rolls.

The company, owned by some Chinese, is located at Kwame Wettey in Awutu Breku in the Central Region.

Three officials of the company — namely the Manager, Mr Ma Jiuming, 55; Sales Manager Ma Mang, 20; and a Ghanaian interpreter, Prince Andoh, 42 — were arrested with the help of some cops but were later granted bail.

When the Special Revenue Mobilisation Taskforce of the GRA visited the site on June 30, 2020 as part of an enforcement exercise to clamp down on defaulting taxpayers, there were dictionaries and piles of junior and senior high school textbooks in the production unit meant to be transformed into toilet rolls.

The textbooks were for Integrated Science, Mathematics, English Language, among other subjects.

According to the managers of the company, the text books were supplied by another company, the identity of which they declined to disclose.

The GRA taskforce retrieved some of the books.

Surprise

The chief of the town, Nana Esiriffi III, came to the site upon seeing the fleet of GRA vehicles enter the premises, and expressed surprise about the operations of the company he had expected to create employment for the youth in the area.

Property Confiscated

Briefing journalists after sealing the premises of the company, the Coordinator of the Special Revenue Mobilisation Taskforce, Mr Henry Sam, said the Informant and Counter Intelligence Unit of the GRA had an information that the company was using books sponsored by the state for junior high and senior high schools to produce toilet rolls.

"The books, which had been printed with state resources, instead of going to the classroom to help the students with their studies are rather recycled even though the books are not outdated. They are used as raw materials for the manufacture of toilet rolls," he said.

Mr Sam said the three officials of the company who were arrested by the police were assisting the with investigations.

The GRA confiscated some property of the company, including four vehicles, while steps were being taken to assess the company's total tax liability.

Mr Sam said there were no tangible records such as books of accounts or sales records as required by Section 27 of the Revenue  Administration Act, while the company did not appear to have issued Value Added Tax invoices.