Tax Stamp: Accra Brewery, Coca Cola, Guinness On The Dagger

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has confiscated products of Accra Brewery Limited (ABL), SBC (Pepsi), Coca Cola and Guinness Ghana Limited for non-compliance of the Excise Tax Stamp.

The GRA has confiscated 100s of products without Excise Tax Stamps and also ordered the companies involved to stop supplying the market with their products till they comply with the law.

As part of the enforcement measures, the GRA team, yesterday in Accra, prevented these companies' trucks from going about their daily distribution.

The team, after inspecting the above-mentioned companies, proceeded to the Achimota Mall, where products like Coca Cola, Lucozade energy drink, Special Ice Mineral Water and many imported drinks without the Tax Stamps were confiscated.

Interestingly, majority of the coca cola products seized had been hidden underneath those that had the tax stamps embossed on them.

Kwabena Apau Antoh, Assistant Commissioner of the GRA and leader of the team, told the media that the importance of the exercise was to ensure total compliance of the Tax Stamp on all categorised consumables such as tobacco products, bottled water, alcoholic and carbonated beverages.

He said the Authority, on September 24, 2018, issued a final ultimatum to companies in order for them to comply with the tax stamp, as the GRA was not going to allow any product without a tax stamp to go on the market.

“We are not going to allow any product without excise tax stamp to go onto the market,” he stated.

However, the team was impressed when they visited GIHOC Distilleries, since it had tax stamp embossed on all its products.

In fact, the Managing Director (MD) of GIHOC Distilleries, Maxwell Kofi Jumah, took the team round the plants to demonstrate how the stamps were being affixed onto the products.

Mr. Jumah added that the GIHOC is 100 percent owned by the state, and produces one of the best dry gins in the world, hence calling on Ghanaians to patronise its products and avoid products that have not got tax stamps on embossed on them.  [
He was hopeful that the tax stamp will help solve derivative products on the market.

Mr. Antoh, pleased with GIHOC's efforts, said the company had been constant with compliance of the tax law, and highly commended Mr. Kofi Jumah for the success made so far.