The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has given the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) a two-week ultimatum to furnish parliament with contracts of engagement of a revenue monitoring company whose identity is unknown with its address traced to a tailoring saloon on the Spintex road in Accra.
Safaritech Ghana Limited was engaged by the GRA in 2020 but records have revealed it has been delisted since 2016 although it still monitors revenue collection for the tax office.
This ensued in parliament on Friday, July 7 when the Commissioner-General of the GRA Rev Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, appeared before the committee.
During the sitting, Ningo Prampram lawmaker Samuel Nartey George asked the GRA boss: “Would it interest you if I told you that, according to our information, you engaged this company in 2020, despite it being delisted as a registered company in the UK since 2016?
“They had displayed the UK as their base of registration. What due diligence did you carry out before engaging them?”
The GRA Boss replied “I will gather this information because I didn’t expect it to be part of today’s schedule.
“I don’t think that was around 2020, but I will check and provide you with the necessary information.”
Sam George stated again that “Well, that doesn’t change the fact that in 2016, this company was delisted. Moreover, you imposed a 773 million US dollar back tax on MTN Ghana Limited, designated as the best corporate taxpayer in Ghana, based on a Safaritech report that KPMG disputed.
“What due diligence was carried out, and at what cost? Could you provide details of the consultancy that Safaritech conducted and its cost to the taxpayer?”
He further said, “Mr Chairman, I will want to make a request that they furnish this committee with details of the cost of the engagements with Safaritech so that we are apprised of the nature of their engagement with this company whose listed address is a tailoring shop on the Spintex Road as we speak right now.”
Directing the GRA Commissioner-General to furnish the House with the details, Chairman of the PAC James Klutse Avedzi said that “Mr Commissioner-General, you can provide the relationship you have with Safaritech Ghana Limited to the clerk of the committee, and if there is the need for us to call you for a further explanation we will do so. So two weeks will be enough for you to do.”