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The Tema office of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Service, on Tuesday closed down Parkobi Clearing and Forwarding Agency, for owing the service 3,165 Ghana Cedis. A joint VAT and Police exercise to recover monies owed by customers in the Metropolis also visited Care Two Shipping Agency, Favourite Shipping Company Limited, and Pipeline Trading Company where the officials issued post-dated cheques to cover their indebtedness. At Ave Maria Holding Limited, Management issued a cheque to pay for the 5,439 Ghana Cedis, they owe. In pursuance of Section 34 of the VAT Act 1998 (Act 546) the Commissioner of VAT is empowered to levy distress on all distrainable things of companies as specified under Section 34 (2) of the Act, to recover any monies owed by companies, together with the cost and charges incidental to the distress. According to Section 34 (7) of the Act, the Commissioner is further empowered by law to sell the distrained property if the amount in respect of the tax, interest or penalties and the cost and charges of and incidental to the distress are not paid within 14 days of the distress. Under Section 62 of the Act, it is an offence for anyone to obstruct officers of the service in the performance of their duties. Speaking to newsmen just before the exercise took off, Mrs Nanzirata Duwiejua, Head of the Tema VAT Office, intimated that about 20 companies within the metropolis owed a total amount of 268,556 Ghana Cedis to her outfit. Mrs Duwiejua appealed to defaulting companies to settle their debts by the end of the year.