2 hotels closed down over tax infractions

The two hotels; Adeko and New Haven were closed down after an investigation proved that only 3 out 42 businesses issue VAT invoices to customers who patronized goods and services.

The Head of Revenue Tax Mobilization, Henry Bradford Sam, told Accra-based Citi FM that the culprits will be dealt with according to the law.

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“The Ghana Revenue Authority has clamped down on businesses that fail to issue the VAT invoice or issue their own invoice or do what we call selective issuance of VAT invoice,” he said.

“The Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) assisted the Ghana Revenue Authority and carried out due diligence through test purchase and examined that the number of tax payers who totalled forty-two, only three issued the VAT invoice. Thirty-nine of them were found to be issuing their own invoice or no invoice at all or what we call selective issuance of VAT invoice, this is contrary to the law,” he added.

Those found guilty may also be charged to pay an amount of not more than five hundred currency points or three times the amount of tax involved, depending on which amount is highest.

In a related development, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has also closed down about 20 hotels operating illegally in the Eastern Region.

The hotels situated in Adawso, Mamfe, Akropong, Aburi and Akuapem have been operating for years, without a license.

According to the Eastern Regional Manager of the Authority, Rudolf Adjei Fredrick, the exercise was done in order to maintain the high standards of the tourism industry.

“For every business that you want to involve yourself in, there are rules and regulations that govern it. In the hospitality industry, specifically hotels and guest houses they need to be registered and licensed by the Ghana Tourism Authority before they can be registered but we have come to the realization over the years that most of them are operating without a valid license, and before that we ensure that you have the basic facilities to operate.”

He further said that this will ensure customers get quality service from the tourism industry.

“It’s quite evident they are given substandard services and there is no way we can license them. After the exercise we will hand over their keys to the police service and give them time to come forward, if they don’t come forward then we will process the documents to our head office in Accra for possible persecution.”

2 hotels closed down over tax infractions

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