Managers of popular retail shopping centres, Palace Mall and China Mall have this week abandoned their shops after failing to comply with the new electronic VAT system, which took effect from October 1, 2022.

This however did not stop the enforcement team of the Ghana Revenue Authority from sealing and locking up the premises of these centres which include China Mall, Palace Mall outlets at Labone, Weija, Spintex Road and Atomic Junction, all in Accra in the Greater Accra region.

When the GRA team arrived at the outlets, managers of the facilities had locked up their offices, leaving just a few casual workers and security personnel at the entrance without any information.

This sends a strong signal that the action by the enforcement team of the Ghana Revenue Authority is delivering results.

The GRA is not perturbed that managers of the shopping centres in question have abandoned post. Area Enforcement Manager, Joseph Annan, says this rather makes the enforcement exercise easier for the team.

“What we do now is to attach the commissioner’s tape and fortunately for us, they already lock up all the shops and abandon the premises, and that even makes the work easier for us. This because we didn’t go through any hassle of driving customers and workers away before doing the enforcement”, he told Joy Business.

The team also sealed the premises of Regal Chinese Restaurant at Osu in Accra.

The GRA says firms that have deployed the new system are doing business effectively.