Drinks without Tax Stamp seized at Makola

• Posted on February 13, 2019
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has seized several packs of Non-alcoholic drinks without tax stamp from retail shops around Makola in the Central Business District of Accra.

The move, according to the GRA, is to improve tax compliance among retailers.

The task force visited various shops unannounced to ascertain the level of compliance of the tax stamp policy.

In all, the team visited five retail shops to check whether excisable products which include tobacco and non-alcoholic drinks (non-carbonated), have the tax stamp on them.

The exercise started at Kolorko near Makola where the taskforce verified drinks that were being offloaded into a warehouse.

All the products checked had the stamp on them. The second and third shops were also compliant with the policy.

However, a fourth shop the team visited – Kate Lartey Company Limited at Okaishie – was not fully compliant.

Drinks sold there did not have the stamp on them.The shop owners also issued fake invoices to their customers, according to the GRA.

The taskforce asked the culprits to report to the Authority’s head office for questioning.

“We shall visit the manufacturers of the products involved to find out why those products do not have the stamp. Some are also imported and they do not have the stamp. We shall find out from them who the suppliers are, and the entry points as far as the imported products are concerned”, Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Exercise at the GRA, Kwabena Appau who led the exercise, told journalists.

The GRA has warned it will get tough on retailers who fail to adhere to the directive.

“It gives the state two assurances, that revenue is secured and the health of the people is also secured. The stamp on the product indicates that the goods are from the right source.”

The GRA in the past visited the mall and shops outside the Central Business Districts. But says it will now concentrate on the markets.