Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, therefore, cannot be a defence for evading tax, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has warned.

The Authority said the excuse by some businesses and eligible taxpayers that they are ignorant of the Ghana tax regime would not be tolerated.

The Head of Accra Central Enforcement Unit of the GRA, Assistant Commissioner Joseph Annan told journalists during an enforcement exercise yesterday that the law is catching up with defaulting taxpayers.

Latest of these defaulters arrested by the GRA are Dorley Company Limited, Aqua Scape, 69 Bridge Enterprise, Aqua professionals and Rozy’s Collections.

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They were arrested yesterday by the GRA Accra Central Area Enforcement team at the East Legon, yesterday.

He said the arrest was part of the Authority’s special enforcement effort to ensure voluntary tax compliance by businesses and eligible taxpayers.

He told journalists GRA is using enforcement as a tool to leave no escape route for taxpayers in the country.According to him, the commonest offences businesses indulge in are none tax registration, selective issuance of tax invoice and non-issuance of tax invoices.

Mr, Annan added that the Authority has a remedy to these offences by conducting a preempt assessment from the period the tax offenders were should to register, declare and make payment to the GRA.

He explained that the preemptive assessment is to serve as a basis for future payout, and the infractions will also come with a cost to the business owner.

“The law talks about going back to when they were supposed to have been registered. So if they were supposed to have registered like three years ago and they failed to do so.

Then once we register them, we will go back to when they were supposed to have registered and we will assess them from that time to date,” he stressed.

Representatives of the errand companies were also picked up by the taskforce and it is expected that the CID will take them to their office to take their statements, after which they will be registered and assessed the Preemptively.

The deputy Commissioner also informed the public about the rolling out of other programmes that will complement the special enforcement exercise, and this include invoice invigilation and night market compliance checks.

He said the programmes were to make sure that taxpayers comply with the tax laws