GRA descends on Melcom over issuance of fake electronic VAT invoices

Managers for Melcom, Kasoa, North Kaneshie and Achimota branches have been picked up by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for alleged refusal to issue electronic VAT to customers.

The GRA on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 embarked on a special operations, which focused on the branches of Melcom shops in some parts of the Greater Accra region.

The exercise is part of moves by the GRA to ensure total compliance with the electronic VAT laws. 

Melcom is part of 50 selected shopping centres engaged by the GRA to pilot the electronic-VAT initiative, aimed at improving transparency in tax collections.

The three Managers picked up from the Kasoa, Achimota and North Kaneshie branches have been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department, (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and prosecution.

According to the Accra Area Manager for Enforcement at the Ghana Revenue Authority, Joseph Annan, the centres were issuing VAT invoices outside the electronic system that was installed by the GRA.

“So today, we are doing for Melcom shopping centres in Kasoa, Achimota and Kaneshie branches as a continuation of our exercise on the electronic VAT installation”, he said.

“We have arrested the managers of those branches and we’re sending them to our head office to take their statements then the CID will take over from there but their offence is issuance of non-electronic VAT invoice which means that they are not issuing VAT through the electronic system” Mr. Annan added.

He indicated that, the exercise will continue as more centres are going to be rolled on to the system this year.

Meanwhile, there is an ongoing investigation to look at claims of some managers having challenges with the new system.

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