GRA Targets Landlords, Foreign Tenants Over Hidden Businesses

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has begun a renewed nationwide crackdown on landlords and foreign nationals covertly using residential properties as business centres to evade taxes, warning that offenders will face strict sanctions.

The crackdown follows intelligence from recent enforcement operations that revealed an increasing trend of residential homes being quietly converted into commercial hubs, deliberately operating outside the tax system. According to officials, this emerging pattern is causing significant revenue losses and undermining tax compliance.

During a targeted operation in East Legon and parts of Tema, GRA teams inspected several homes suspected of hosting unregistered businesses. Findings from the exercise, authorities say, confirm that the practice is widespread.

Accra Area Manager of the GRA, Joseph Annan, disclosed that many of the businesses operating from these homes were failing to consistently issue VAT receipts.

“Non-issuance of VAT… they are selling but then of course once in a while they do issue, but most times they don’t,” he said, indicating deliberate attempts to avoid tax obligations.

He also revealed that some of the properties had been rented out to foreign nationals—particularly Chinese tenants—who were running trading activities under the guise of residential occupancy.

“What we have gathered here is that many of these houses around have been given to Chinese and that’s what they do,” he added.

Describing the situation, Annan said many of the neighbourhoods appeared residential at first glance but were quietly hosting active commercial operations.

“You see the houses as residential… but that is not it. They are selling,” he said. “We went to the next lane and found many of them there… we’ll come in very early and then deal with them.”

Landlords also under scrutiny

The GRA is placing part of the responsibility on landlords, insisting they cannot remain indifferent while their properties are used to facilitate tax evasion.

Annan was emphatic:

“It’s the owner not helping us… these are houses built by Ghanaians for residential. So if somebody is doing business and is supposed to pay taxes, once you take your rent and go to sleep, it’s not helping us.”

The GRA says both landlords and tenants found culpable will be prosecuted as the Authority intensifies a nationwide compliance effort aimed at expanding the tax base and boosting domestic revenue mobilisation.