The Labone, Spintex, Atomic roundabout and Weija branches of Palace Mall have been shutdown by the Ghana Revenue Authority for non-compliance with the authority’s E-VAT Invoicing system.

According to GRA, a number of selected shops have deliberately failed to issue VAT invoices electronically when customers walk in to make purchases.

The GRA says failure of these shops to abide by its directive sends signals that they are under-declaring tax.

The Weija branch of China Mall has also been shut down, bringing to five, the total number of China Mall branches closed down in the last 24 hours.

Speaking to the media, the Area Manager of GRA’s Accra central office, Joseph Annan, cautioned managers of the shops not to tamper with the Commissioner’s seal as that may compound their situation.

At the Labone branch of Palace Mall, managers of the facility locked themselves inside the shop while observing officials from GRA who were embarking on the enforcement exercise.

They refused to exit the premises after several efforts by the taskforce.

The entrance to the mall has since been sealed.

The Commissioner General of GRA, Dr. Ammishaddiah Owusu-Amoah, earlier spoke to the media and urged businesses that were yet to subscribe to the new VAT policy to do so or bear the brunt of the authority.

“There are 50 taxpayers that have been enrolled in this project. We have started in earnest and the response is quite encouraging. However, what is happening is that, for some of the taxpayers, the deadline had elapsed, and some people are still not on the system.”

“GRA has decided that then compliance enforcement is the way to go. What we are doing now is that for those taxpayers who we have engaged, and are not hooked up unto the system, our compliance team will close down their shops. We are going to ensure that they are not restored until they comply.”