The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stepped up its tax enforcement efforts by sealing several non-compliant businesses in the Mallam area of Accra, signaling a tougher stance on companies that fail to meet their statutory tax obligations.
As part of a nationwide compliance drive, GRA enforcement officers visited a cluster of foreign-owned manufacturing and trading firms operating within a large industrial yard in the area. According to the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Accra Area Enforcement, Mr. Joseph Adjeikwei Annan, the exercise was aimed at verifying whether businesses were keeping and producing mandatory sales records as required by law.
Four companies—WZL Doors Manufacturing Company, Alicanonizing Company Limited, Hai Ning Chen Yu Limited, and Yida Feng Company Limited—were sealed after failing to present their sales records upon request. Some of the firms were also cited for selectively issuing VAT invoices, a practice the Authority described as a serious violation of Ghana’s tax laws.
Mr. Annan explained that another firm, Mingzhou Ghana Limited, narrowly avoided closure after initially failing to produce its records but later complying when officers began the sealing process.
He emphasised that proper record-keeping is not optional but a legal requirement, adding that businesses found in breach would remain closed until they submit the necessary documentation to the Authority.
The Assistant Commissioner noted that the enforcement action followed weeks of extensive public education through radio, print, and other media platforms, during which businesses were informed that non-compliance would attract strict sanctions.
He warned that the exercise would continue across Accra and other parts of the country until tax compliance improves, urging businesses to regularise their tax affairs without delay. Mr. Annan also cautioned that interfering with GRA seals attracts harsher penalties and that persistent offenders risk arrest and prosecution.
Appealing to the public, he called on citizens to refrain from shielding tax defaulters, stressing that paying taxes is a shared civic responsibility crucial to national development.
The latest action underscores the GRA’s resolve to enforce tax laws uniformly and ensure fairness in Ghana’s revenue mobilisation efforts.
