South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, has called on mobile operator MTN Group and the Ghana Revenue Authority to find a solution to a $773 million tax dispute, a Reuters report said.
Minister Pandor was briefed on the issue this week and called “on the parties involved to do everything possible to find an amicable solution,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
The Issue
Earlier this month, MTN said the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) issued its subsidiary in Ghana, MTN Ghana, with a bill for back taxes after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018.
GRA and inferred that MTN had under-declared its revenue by about 30% during the period.
MTN, which has a presence in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said at the time that it disputed the “accuracy and basis” of the assessment and that it would fight it.
The company had said it was going to fight the ‘inaccurate’ assessment because it was dissatisfied with the methodology.
But GRA in a statement in mid January justified the tax assessment and audit and insisted that it was done within the remits of Ghanaian law and by the principles of transparency.
It said, although MTN has been tax complaint over the years, this latest notice does not in any way “prejudice the conduct of audits as required by law.”
Below is the Authority’s response
The attention of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been drawn to a public statement issued by SCANCOM PLC (MTN GH) in reaction to a Notice of Tax Assessment served on MTN Ghana by the Authority on the 10th of January 2023.
GRA wishes to remind taxpayers and the general public that its mandate in tax administration is derived from the Ghana Revenue Authority Act 2009, (Act 791), the Revenue Administration Act 2016, (Act 915) and several other tax laws.
Section 36 of the Revenue Administration Act 2016, (Act 915), mandates the Commissioner-General to audit the tax affairs of a person; and it is in accordance with this provision that the Authority conducted a Tax audit on MTN Ghana for the tax period 2014 to 2018.
The audit was conducted as required by law adhering to the principles of fairness and transparency.
Section 42 of Act 915 also prescribes the ways in which a person can object to a tax assessment that is served by the Commissioner-General.
In the case of MTN Ghana, GRA followed due process in serving a Notice of Assessment and has engaged MTN Ghana as required by Law to ensure that it communicates the basis of assessment as well as the several avenues available for objection as required in Section 42 of the Revenue Administration Act.
We wish to emphasize that MTN Ghana has been reminded at all times in the Authority’s interactions with them about their right to object to any tax decision by the Commissioner-General.
Admittedly, MTN Ghana has been audited many times in the past and has received numerous awards as a compliant taxpayer; however, these do not in any way prejudice the conduct of audits as required by Law.
GRA uses this opportunity to remind taxpayers of their obligations under the tax Laws to declare and pay the right amount of tax(es) as well as the mandate of GRA to ensure that all businesses pay the right amount of tax.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
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