Ghana Chamber of Mines holds stakeholders' workshop

Stakeholders in the mining sector have attended a day’s training workshop on the Transfer Pricing Regulation, 2012, organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines in collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority.

The Regulation passed by Parliament last year, determines the arms-length prices in international dealings, taking into account the business dealings between persons.

Participants of the workshop included members from the Ghana Revenue Authority, Adamus Resources, AngloGold Ashanti, Ghana Bauxite Company, Sandvik Mining, Gold Field Ghana, Ghana Star Resources, Newmont Ghana, African Underground Mining, and Ghana Manganese.

Dr Toni Aubynn, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines who spoke at the function, said the Chamber was committed to ensuring that members conduct their duties diligently in line with the Regulation.

He said the workshop was to upgrade members’ knowledge on the policy and to introduce them to changes for a total understanding of the Regulation.

Dr Aubynn said, “Our members conduct their accounting sticking to the rules of the game, and this workshop is only to make them do further accounting in a more transparent, free and honest manner”.

Mr Francis Kweku Ashinyo, an officer with the Ghana Revenue Authority, said the regulation was aimed at curbing revenue loss from activities of multinational companies.

He said the new rules for regulating the pricing of goods and services transacted between associated enterprises, particularly Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and their subsidiaries or branches, were expected to help increase Ghana's tax revenue contribution.

He said the Regulation covered the price at which related entities transferred goods or products or related properties among themselves; thus it applies to transactions between persons who were in a controlled relationship.

Mr Ashinyo noted that the transactions included purchasing and sale of goods, lease or use of tangibles and intangibles as assets, provision of management service, technical service and other intra-group service, as well as the provision of finance and other financial agreements.

He indicated that, in determining the arms-length, it was important to take into account the perspectives of both the transferer of the property and the transferee including the price of comparable independent persons who pay for the transfer of the property and the usefulness of that tangible property to the business of the transferee.

“In applying the comparability principle to the transaction, consider the benefit expected from the intangible property, any geographical limitation on the exercise of the right to the intangible property, the character of the right transferred where exclusive or non-exclusive, and whether the transfer has a right to participate in further development made by the transferer to the intangible property”, he added.

Mr Asinyo, however, indicated that the nature of the service, circumstances under which they were provided and the benefit derived or expected to be derived by the person in the controlled relationship as some of the conditions taken into consideration before a service is disallowed.

Mr Edwin, Allotey Acquaye, Director of Tax at Newmont Ghana, said compliance with the laws of the country was important, and that the workshop would help them to comply with the regulation.

He urged all members to work with the Ghana Revenue Authority so as to get to know what was required of them to make the implementation of the law successful.