The Technical subcommittee on the Committee on Foreign Retail Trade made up of personnel from Immigration, Ghana Revenue Authority, Standard Authority, Police, Customs, National Security, GIPC, and Members of Ghana Union of Traders Association has ended the assessment of Compliance by foreign-owned shops in the Eastern Regional Capital, Koforidua.
The exercise was initially scheduled to take place for three days but the committee managed to complete the assessment exercise by end of Wednesday.
In all, 66 shops were assessed.
Many of the shops assessed were Mobile Phones and Accessories shops owned by Nigerians as well as Rice shops owned by Indians and Lebanese.
Addressing the media after the exercise, Maxwell Apenkro, a Member of the Technical Sub Committee on Foreign Retail Trade many of the shops assessed were found to be evading taxes in Koforidua.
The shops have either misrepresented their documents to reduce their tax liability or operating without paying tax.
“Some have not registered their businesses at all and once you have not registered you have no TIN and the implication is also that they don’t pay taxes, there are some also who have not registered but using documentation of other people. And then there are some also who are not paying the right taxes. If you are a foreign shop you are not supposed to register as sole proprietorship Foreigner are barred from registering for sole proprietorship shop. You have to register as Limited by Share and it has implication also on tax so foreigners are barred from paying Tax Stamp they have to pay Corporate Taxes so once the needful hadn’t been done it also means that they are not paying the right taxes” Maxwell Apenkro, a Member of the Technical Sub Committee on Foreign Retail Trade explained.
He added, “In few cases, many of the foreigners are operating without Immigration documents-no resident permit some also it is a Ghanaian shop but the workers are foreigners”.
On his part, the Leader of the Technical subcommittee on the Committee on Foreign Retail Trade, Edward Adjenim Boateng explained that the exercise in Eastern Region was quite different from other regions visited because it was the first time such exercise was being conducted in the region hence given the culprit foreigners in retail business 14 days grace period to secure all the needed documentation.
He said the Presidential Taskforce will subsequently be deployed to clamp down on those who fail to comply by putting their shops under lock and key.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Obed Ansah
