Enforcement Officers of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have closed down Cheng Gong Ghana Limited, a Chinese company, for non-compliance with the electronic tax system for Value Added Tax (VAT) introduced by the GRA.

The company is accused of failing to adhere to the e-invoicing system for VAT, which allows the GRA to monitor live transactions, preventing under-invoicing or VAT avoidance.

The GRA officials inspected several businesses in the Spintex area, and Cheng Gong Company, along with others, was found to be operating without complying with the E-VAT system.

The Accra Area Enforcement Manager of GRA, Assistant Commissioner Joseph Annan, stated that despite engaging with the management of some selected businesses on how to implement the system, most of them failed to comply.

As a result, the GRA decided to seal the Cheng Gong facility with the Commissioner General’s Seal because of the company’s failure to comply with tax laws.

Mr. Annan warned that tampering with the seal would constitute an offense under the law, and the facility would remain closed until the business owners rectify the situation.

Other businesses visited during the enforcement action included Betje Enterprise, Zee Nails and Beauty, New Place Fabrics, New Place Collections, Paul Right Shoes and Bags, Celebrity Style, Jolisaeko Enterprise, Zilla Home Trading Enterprise, among others.

The GRA indicated that the owners of these businesses would be required to provide statements, and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) would take over the investigation.

Their offense is related to the issuance of non-electronic VAT invoices, indicating a failure to use the electronic system for VAT collection.