A special exercise embarked upon by personnel of the Value Added Tax (VAT), Operations of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Police Service revealed that Tiantai, an Accra-based Chinese restaurant was operating without issuing VAT invoices. The Anti-Revenue Leakages Special Monitoring Team of the GRA was part of the exercise which followed a research carried out by the team on the practice nationwide. Mr Thomas Mills, who made this known to the Ghana News Agency in Accra at the weekend, said the research compelled the team to patronise the services of the restaurant, where the authorities failed to issue them an invoice after eating. He said more than 200 hotels and restaurants visited nationwide this year by the team revealed that only 20 issued VAT invoices without the client requesting for it, while some only issue the invoice when asked for. "Some of the hospitality facilities ask clients whether they want VAT and explain to them that a request for VAT will mean an extra cost to them, while some hotels and restaurants have not registered with the VAT Secretariat and have no license from the Ghana Tourists Board to operate," he said. He said it was criminal for any corporate entity to violate the collection of VAT, since the act threatened revenue generation, adding "such people should not be spared because they are economic saboteurs". Mr Mills said some people also collect the VAT and under declare the value or present false accounts, while some register several accounts and present only one to the tax authorities. "Some companies direct that the money is placed in secret accounts while they issue waybills instead of VAT invoices to entrepreneurs." Mr Mills said the practice was undermining national development and the economy, warning that who ever was encouraging it would be unmasked and dealt with. Source: GNA