Three Members of the Minority in Parliament have sued the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ministry of Finance for their attempts to grant tax waivers to some 42 companies under the One District One Factory initiative.
According to the legislators, it would not auger well for the country to grant such favours when the economy is in tatters, thereby urging the Supreme Court to suspend the waivers.
The three MPs, Bernard Ahiafor, MP Akatsi South, Kwame Agbodza, MP for Adaklu and Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle say the waivers tend to serve the interest of some individuals rather than the interest of Ghana.
They add that the move contravenes Article 174 of the 1992 Constitution, describing it as unconstitutional. Terming the waivers as inconsistent, with the laws, they want the apex court to declare it null, void and of no effect.
The Akatsi South MP, Bernard Ahiafor, says the Supreme Court should come to the aid of the country to save it from losing those huge sums of money.
“It appears Article 174 of the Constitution is being violated, the Supreme Court is giving an exclusive jurisdiction to interpret, therefore, any citizen who is aggrieved that a particular portion of the Constitution is being contravened, the remedy available is to seek for interpretation and declaration at the Supreme Court which is the apex court.
“That is exactly what we have done in the circumstance, we’re seeking relief against the ones that are being implemented and the ones that are yet to be implemented,” the Akatsi South MP noted.
On May 20, the government released the tax waiver request list of companies under the 1D1F.
In 2021, the Ministry of Finance began processes to secure approximately $335,072,712.13 in tax exemptions for some 42 companies under the government’s One District One Factory initiative.
The Exemptions Act, 2022 (Act 1083) was presented in Parliament by the former Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in 2022.
Among the companies, the newly established Sentuo Oil Refinery Limited has the highest figure of $164,633,012.00.