The Ghana Upstream Petroleum Chamber has hosted a seminar for its members with the Ghana Revenue Authority Petroleum Unit, at which they discussed industry tax concerns and how best to resolve them. The concerns revolved around legal and administrative processes.
In his opening remarks, Chair of the Chamber, Mr. Joe Mensah – Senior Vice President of Kosmos Energy, reminded participants of the saying “coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success”. He said the Chamber will consider supporting training programmes for auditors from the petroleum tax unit of GRA to help both parties hear directly from one another and step-up collaboration in the interest of oil and gas, adding: “The more knowledgeable GRA is about our industry and industry is of their requirements, the better it is for all parties”.
Also present was Mr. Edward Gyambrah, Deputy Commissioner-General from the GRA, who provided numerous suggestions on how to improve collaboration and understanding between the parties. He argued that there are differing opinions on the same issue, and many of these matters could easily be resolved if companies follow the right processes.
In his welcoming remarks, CEO of the Chamber Mr. David Ampofo urged participants to speak frankly and judge the event by what it achieves in the coming months. Both parties agreed to set up joint working groups and meet quarterly to address emerging tax issues.
