Contrary to a claim by a Deputy Finance Minister that telecommunication companies in the country did not win the case against government on the Communications Service Tax (CST), the telecoms won the suit.
Cassiel Ato Forson disclosed this while speaking on an Accra-based radio station on the amended Communications Service Tax (CST) Bill.
“The intent of this very amendment is to seek clarity on what inter-connect means. We shouldn’t forget about the fact that this law existed since 2008 when it was an Excise Act as was actually pronounced by the then minister in charge, the late Hon Baah Wiredu. In his budget statement read to Parliament that was what he said.
“However, there was some sort of lack of clarity in the law and so the companies actually started paying it from 2008. They paid 2008, paid 2009, 2010 and paid 2011 till March and they stopped because they identified a loophole.”
Mr Forson said “the companies picked the matter to court thinking that they will win.”
He commented: “However, what we are saying is same companies, in their books, treated this, actually accrued the money, made provision in their books. Because it means that they actually charging for this service but they are not paying the money back to Government.”
In the 2013 budget, what we did is that we actually made the provision in the budget including the inter-connect service. So what we came to Parliament to do today is to seek clarity so that we will actually realize that.
The companies won the suit against Government over the payment of additional tax liabilities under the Communications Service Tax (CST) in March, this year.
The telecommunications companies described the move as double taxation and dragged the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to court.
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