The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has seized carbonated drinks and alcoholic beverages that have not been affixed with excise tax stamps.

The products are mostly imported – Coca-Cola, vodka, cartons of malt, and several other beverages

According to the GRA, the market value of these drinks is thousands of Ghana Cedis.

The items were discovered in an open market without the required excise stamp, indicating an attempt to avoid tax.

Kwabena Apau, head of the GRA Excise Unit, announced the seizure and lamented the egregious rates at which people break the nation’s revenue collection regulations.

“We have intercepted bottled water, carbonated soft drinks, beer such as Heineken, cigarettes etc. and we expect that those products would have been fixed with stamps either manufactured locally or imported and we have noticed that most people are now flouting the law.”

In order to stop the present tax leak, Mr. Apau also revealed the GRA’s intention to uphold the nation’s revenue rules.

“These products, particularly the imported ones are coming in without the stamps which means that no taxes have been paid on them and this is what we need to stop as you know, GRA has the mandate to collect taxes and so all the measures that we have to take including the tax stamp policy that is to enhance revenue collection has to be enforced and that is what we are doing.”