The management of Jamila Home, an antique showroom in Accra, has been invited by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to assist investigations into an alleged assault on one of its officers during a compliance operation at the facility.
During the operation on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, the management of the showroom denied officials of the authority entry into the premises. The ensuing confrontation, after the officials attempted to gain access, resulted in one of the officers being assaulted.
The incident also resulted in the phone of one of the officials being damaged when security personnel of the showroom attempted to prevent him from recording the confrontation.
The Assistant Commissioner in charge of Accra Area Enforcement at the authority, Mr Joseph Adjeikwei Annan, who led officers to the showroom on Thursday, October 8, 2026, said the incident followed an intelligence-led compliance check initiated by the authority.
He said the officers had been dispatched from the authority’s headquarters after information received prompted the compliance exercise, but they encountered resistance when they attempted to enter the premises.
“The information we got at the office was that they were refused entry and were assaulted. In fact, one of our officers lost their ID. It was broken,” Mr Annan said.
He said the officers involved had already given their statements to the authority, while the Criminal Investigations Department would take statements from the management of the showroom as part of efforts to establish what transpired.
He said the authority had also taken records from the business premises for examination and would determine whether further compliance checks or a tax audit would be necessary.
He stressed that assaulting an officer of the authority constituted a criminal offence and warned members of the public against attacking revenue officers in the course of their duties.
“Assault is a crime, section 85 of the Revenue Administration Act prescribed a maximum prison term of 20 years for certain offences involving obstruction or assault of revenue officials,” he said.
He added that the police would determine the next steps after taking statements from both sides and conducting investigations.
Jamila Home’s account
The Economic Advisor to Jamila Home, Mr Hillarius McCash, who explained what led to the confrontation, said the showroom operated differently from conventional showrooms because it dealt in expensive luxury antiques and did not allow unrestricted walk-in access.
According to him, clients were normally educated at the entrance before being allowed into the showroom, while prospective buyers were required to book appointments for private viewings.
He said the officer who visited the premises on Wednesday arrived when the particular official responsible for the relevant documents was unavailable.
“We asked the officer to wait, reschedule the visit, or allow the documents to be brought to the GRA office but the request was not accepted,” he narrated. He said the situation escalated when the officers entered the premises, leading security personnel to intervene.
Tax compliance
On tax compliance, Mr McCash said Jamila Home had been filing and paying its taxes in accordance with its business operations. He said the company’s records were available for inspection and that its Value Added Tax payments were up to date, with the latest payment made about a month earlier.
He explained that the company’s business model involved customers paying for antiques over an extended period, with the items sometimes remaining with suppliers until customers completed payment.
He said the business did not operate on frequent sales, with periods of two to five months sometimes passing without a sale.
Mr McCash said the company was prepared to work with the authority to resolve any concerns arising from the compliance exercise.
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