GRA shuts down 2 companies

The Debt Management, Compliance and Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has closed down two companies in Accra for failing to honour their tax obligations.

The team locked up the premises of Pasico Ghana Limited, a company that deals in lifting equipment and building materials, for allegedly failing to pay GH¢4.85 million in taxes accrued between 2015 and 2019.

Later, the team closed down Pollution to Water (P2W), located at Dzorwulu, for owing GH¢14.9 million in taxes.

Exchanges

The GRA also retrieved GH¢1 million from GIHOC Distilleries in Accra during a similar operation at the company, but only after a near brawl which was only resolved when the company agreed to a payment plan with the revenue collection outfit.

The management of GIHOC further promised to meet with the Commissioner General of the GRA and the Board Chairman of GRA by 12 p.m. on Friday for further deliberations on the matter.

GIHOC is said to owe GRA about GH¢182 million in taxes, made up of about GH¢154 million interest and a principal of about GH¢17.6 million, accrued over the past two years.

Those tax liabilities, officials of GRA explained, were excise duties, VAT and VAT interests.

Briefing

Briefing journalists during the exercise in Accra last Thursday, a Principal Revenue Officer (PRO) at the Debt Management and Compliance Unit of the GRA, Mr Ignatius Sabla, said all efforts to make Pasico pay the outstanding debts had proved futile.

The exercise, described by the GRA as a distress action, is said to be the last resort by the authority as part of measures to retrieve tax debts.

It followed several demand notices and invitation to the debtors to report at the office of the GRA after visits by a number of tax officials.

Officials of the GRA said the Commissioner-General would be compelled to sanction the auctioning of any company to retrieve monies due the GRA if they failed to pay their tax debts.

Pasico was given a 14-day grace period to pay the outstanding debt before the company would be reopened for business.

The doors of the company were locked with special padlocks belonging to the GRA after an inventory had been taken.

Liability

At Dzorwulu, the team brought operations at the Pollution to Water (P2W) to a halt after the management of the company were accosted for allegedly failing to meet their tax liabilities of GH¢14.9 million.

"We are going to move all out and ensure every tax liability is collected to the last bottle," the Head of Debt Management, Compliance and Enforcement of GRA, Mr Michael Sefah, said.

At the Cocoa Marketing Company Limited (CMCL), the Special Revenue Mobilisation Task Force held a prolonged discussion with the top management of the company after which the GRA officials announced that the management of the company had promised paying the GH¢6.8 million tax debt by Monday.

"We are holding on to the distress action in the national interest to protect further destruction of the cocoa beans meant for export," Mr Sefah indicated.

Highlights

Two companies were last Thursday closed down by the Debt Management, Compliance and  Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority for allegedly failing to honour their tax obligations.