The Chamber of Freight and Trade has shot down tax evasion and corruption charges by the Office of the Special Prosecutor against Labianca Limited, describing it as a case of giving the dog a bad name to hang it.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Chamber observed that both Labianca Limited, owned by Council of State member, Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinneh, and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority acted within the applicable law, namely the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891), which qualified Labianca Limited for “customs advance ruling” as per section 12 of the Act.
The chamber also argued that “the company [Labianca Limited] or their agents may not have known that there is a provision in the Act that allows for an engagement with Customs for value acceptance within their first three years of operation.”
“This provision in the Customs Act does not in any way discriminate against any person on the basis of position, religion, status, tribe, colour, or creed. It is open to every importer and exporter. As a result, the link between the application of the law and the position of the company’s director owner is neither here nor there,” the Chamber stated.
It noted that Labianca Limited has, as a matter of course, been applying for the “advance customs ruling”, with the Customs Division having the right in law to accept or reject the application with reason. The Chamber observed that at no point in the ruling of the Special Prosecutor did he mention that Customs was under duress to accept the application, hence nullifying the Special Prosecutor’s charge of influence peddling.
He stated further that “benchmarking” as is being used currently at the country’s ports is not the standard of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and lends itself to subjectivity and illegality. Therefore, according to the Chamber, marking benchmark values up or down cannot be described as illegal.
Following a petition by one Frank Asare regarding alleged shortfalls in tax payment by Labianca Limited last year, the OSP launched an investigation into the matter.
On Tuesday, the OSP charged the company with corruption in relation to the write down of tax duties and liabilities to the tune of GHC 1.07 million.
Following a preliminary directive by the OSP, the company has repaid the full amount to the OSP, according to the OSP.
