O. M. Minerals Directors in dock over GH¢3.7m tax evasion
The Directors of O. M. Minerals Limited, a company that trades in and exports precious metal, have been charged at the Tax Court in Accra for allegedly failing to pay tax of over GH¢3.7m to the state.
The Directors, Oscar Moore and Gladys Boatemaa, have pleaded not guilty to the charge of failing to pay tax contrary to section 80 of the Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915).
The court was presided over by Justice Margaret Welbourne, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as a High Court judge.
The accused persons were admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 each.
Bail Application
In his bail application, counsel for the accused, Osei Owusu, told the court that the accused persons had paid GH¢40,000 in terms of corporate taxes.
He said currently, the workplace had been locked by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the accused persons were unable to access their documents to defend themselves.
The lawyer, therefore, prayed the court for an order to the Commissioner-General of the GRA, the complainant, to gain access and retrieve information from their offices to help them mount a strong defence.
The court further issued an order to the Commissioner-General to grant access to the accused persons under supervision to retrieve their documents.
Taxes
Narrating the facts of the case, an Assistant Revenue Officer of the GRA, Rebecca Edufo-Abraham, said a tax audit conducted by officers of the Authority on the company for the period January 2016 to December 2018 established a total tax liability of GH¢3,730,138.87 made up of Corporate Tax, Directors Pay As You Earn, withholding tax and Value Added Tax.
Madam Edufo-Abraham said the GRA, per the final demand notice dated November 26, 2020 to the company, made a final demand for the outstanding tax liability but the accused persons have so far failed to comply.
“A distress warrant was issued and executed by the GRA on the 1st Accused Company,” she added and said the company’s premises was presently under lock per the distress warrant executed.
She also said under the circumstances the accused persons were served with a criminal summons to appear before court to answer the charge preferred against them.