Tax Expert and Lead Partner at Deloitte Ghana, George Ankomah, has indicated that companies and tax payers have the right to object to taxes imposed by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) provided they have the right documents.

His comment follows oil exploration and production firm, Tullow and MTN Ghana challenging the Ghana Revenue Authority over some advanced tax imposed on them by the authority.

Tullow is challenging the GRA over $300 million advanced tax imposed on the company by the authority for its 2023 operation

Tullow is also raising issues on a similar assessment conducted in 2022, after a review by the GRA.

These concerns were captured in Tullow Oil’s January Trading Statement and Operational Update released on January 25, 2023.

Speaking on Market Place on Joy News, Mr. Ankomah said tax assessments can be flawed, hence a legal action should be a last resort.

According to him, tax authorities have the mandate to conduct assessment on businesses operating in the country. However, businesses also have the right to provide the right documents that were not ready at the time of audit.

“Globally, tax authorities have the mandate to conduct audit on businesses all over and so there is nothing wrong with the Ghana Revenue Authority conducting audit on businesses. However, once audits are conducted and issues are raised, the tax payers also have the opportunity to object to the issues raised by providing the appropriate document”, he said.

Meanwhile, Tullow oil, says it will continue to actively engage the Government of Ghana to resolve the disputes on a mutually acceptable basis.