2 fined GH₵6000 for forgery, tax evasion

Two employees of a trading centre at Zongo Lane in Accra, who forged invoice receipts to evade tax, have been sentenced to a total fine of GH₵6,000 by the Kaneshie District Magistrate Court “1”.

The first convict, Chen Yan Shan, a manager of the Zongo Lane branch of AEC Trading and Manufacturing Centre, would serve 120 days imprisonment in default of his GH₵4, 800 fine.

He  was sentenced by the court presided over by Her Worship Ms Rosemond Agyiri,  after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, uttering forged document, making of false or misleading statements and evasion of tax payment.

The second convict, Leticia Fullah, a salesgirl at the shop, who was sentenced to GH₵1,200 and 30 days imprisonment in default, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and uttering forged document.

The facts presented in court are that on August 22, 2019, the Ghana Revenue Authority National taskforce team led by Mr Joseph Annang, the complaint in the case, undertook a monitoring exercise within the Accra Central Market.

About 7:49am, Mr Annan, stopped a customer who bought goods worth GH₵ 1,627 from the shop of the convicted persons and used a VAT/NHIL invoice receipt no. V19/0365300 issued to him to crosscheck the value on the duplicate and triplicate. 

It turned out that there were different amounts on the original and duplicate and when the salesgirl was questioned, she admitted having issued the original receipt which reflected the actual amount GH₵1,627.

She, however, explained that, she was instructed by her manager to place a cardboard under the original receipt so that the actual amount would not reflect on the duplicate and triplicate.

She confessed that the manager collected the booklet after the original receipt had been issued to the customer, then wrote GH₵ 180 into the VAT invoice duplicate and triplicate ostensibly to evade tax due the state.

END