Officials of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Friday night sealed and locked up the popular Cloud 9 lounge and pub at Osu on Oxford Street over non-compliance with tax obligations.

The enforcement followed the operators’ failure to register for and pay Value Added Tax (VAT) and other statutory taxes, despite several notices issued since the establishment began operations.

The exercise, which started on Friday night and ended in the early hours of Saturday, formed part of the GRA’s night market economy operations aimed at ensuring tax compliance among businesses that operate predominantly at night.

During the operation, the enforcement team also visited Liquid Pub in Nungua, Crisberry Night Club and Restaurant, Space Station Pub and Night Club in Nungua, Italian Boy Restaurant and Pub, and Shawarma Factory at the Spintex Marina Mall, among others, to assess their level of compliance.

The team seized unauthorised receipt books and invited managers of non-compliant businesses for further questioning after discovering that some operators were using receipt books without approval, while others had not registered for tax purposes.

Addressing journalists during the operation, the National Coordinator for the Night Market Economy and Chief Revenue Officer, Alpha Senanu Hossoo, said several invitations had been sent to the operators of Cloud 9 to discuss their tax obligations, but they failed to respond.

“For a business like Cloud 9, we invited them in 2023, and this year we have served notice twice for them to take the opportunity to regularise their business under the night market economy project, but they have been recalcitrant, so we have to enforce the law. The other operators we have served notice and invited too — if they refuse to come to the GRA to regularise, we will seal off and lock up their offices. We will not give up until we bring some sanity into the night market space,” he said.

The enforcement exercise is in line with the ongoing 24-hour economy drive in Accra, aimed at boosting tax compliance among night-time businesses.