The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) don uncover say the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) no deduct statutory taxes wey amount to GH₵13.38 million from payments dem make automatically to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) for downstream petroleum audit services.
Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng talk for press conference say even though GRA be the central tax collection agency for the country, dem no withhold the taxes wey dey due. He talk say even though GRA later correct the tax shortfall on July 24, 2024, penalty wey dey amount to GH₵18.8 million still dey outstanding.
“The central issue wey come from the automatic payments wey GRA dey make to SML concerning the downstream petroleum audit be say GRA, the central tax authority, no deduct statutory taxes wey total GH₵13,380,000.00,” Mr Agyebeng explain.
Aside the outstanding penalty, the OSP report still mention say SML dey owe Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax liability of GH₵346,967.53. These findings be part of the OSP ongoing investigation into contracts wey involve the Ministry of Finance, the GRA, and SML, wey already reveal plenty breaches of procurement, tax, and public financial management regulations.
The OSP stress say these lapses wey GRA dey do raise serious concerns about internal compliance and accountability within Ghana revenue administration system. The investigation dey continue, and more details go come out soon.
Key Points:
- GRA failed to deduct GH₵13.38 million in taxes.
- GH₵18.8 million penalty remains unpaid.
- SML owes GH₵346,967.53 in PAYE taxes.
- OSP investigation reveals multiple breaches.
Next Steps
The OSP dey continue dey investigate the matter and go take necessary action based on dem findings. Public go get update as the investigation dey progress.