Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association announces strike action amidst alleged GRA harassment
The Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association, a representative body for second-hand car parts dealerships in the Greater Accra Region, has declared its intent to launch a sit-down strike commencing on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, in response to alleged harassment by officials from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The alleged harassment of the spare parts dealers by the GRA enforcement team follows the failure of the association members to adopt the electronic tax collection system, which has hindered the GRA’s access to their financial records. The Electronic VAT system was introduced by the GRA on October 1, 2022, with the aim of curbing revenue leakage and verifying businesses’ actual income.
Joseph Annan, the GRA’s Accra Area Enforcement Manager, explained that enforcement has become a necessary step after multiple unsuccessful attempts to persuade association members to comply with the law.
Speaking during an interview on Monday, Takyi Addo, the spokesperson for the association, vehemently criticized the GRA’s compliance exercise, describing it as an affront to its members. He announced the impending strike, which is scheduled for Wednesday. The strike aims to express the association’s dissatisfaction with the disruption caused by the GRA’s compliance exercise to its members’ businesses.
Mr. Addo emphasized that the compliance exercise falsely portrays the association members as engaging in illicit activities, despite their lawful operations. He further warned that after the sit-down strike, the association plans to prohibit all GRA officials from entering its members’ shops until the GRA issues an official statement to completely cease the exercise.
The association is not seeking the suspension of the exercise but its full termination, as they aim to emphasize their legitimacy as law-abiding business entities.
