Surfline head office shutdown over tax defaults

The head office of Internet service providers, Surfline, was on Tuesday, October 30 shut down over 37.3 million tax default by the debt management and tax compliance enforcement unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

The amount constitutes unpaid pay as you earn for workers (PAYE), communication service tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) from a period of 3years (2015-2018).

Workers were asked to pack out before the GRA used its yellow and red bandages to seal doors of the office and the main gate of the company.

Mr. Kwesi Bobia-Ansah, the Deputy Commissioner, Communications and Public Affairs of the GRA, said the office was shut down because there was no commitment from the company to pay their outstanding taxes.

He said, “We prefer to dialogue, we just don’t close down companies. The closure of the office is one of the last tools available to us, before then we communicate, remind you, but they did not show enough commitment.”

According to him, the Revenue Authority before it embarks such closure engages the “culprit in series of engagement.

“Before there is a distress action, there are phone calls and reminders. We don’t just get up one day to shut them down,” Bobbie-Ansah said.



Glo Ghana

Earlier, the GRA also nearly shut the head office of telecom firm, Glo Ghana over a GHC10 million tax default.

Glo Ghana escaped the closure after a crunch meeting between officials of Glo and the debt management and tax compliance enforcement unit of Ghana Revenue Authority.

After hours in a closed-door meeting, Glo officials resolved to defray GH?2 million of the overall debt.
According to Mr. Bobbie-Ansah, there was commitment from management of Glo to pay but Surfline did not show that.

Surfline could lose its assets if it fails to honour its tax obligations after 10 days.