Africa-Press – Gambia. The Committee commenced its engagement with the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) by seeking clarification on the role of the Authority’s officials stationed at the Gam Petroleum Depot. In response, the Commissioner General (CG) informed the Committee that the primary responsibility of the GRA officials at the depot is to ensure that appropriate taxes are levied and collected on petroleum products uplifted from the depot storage facilities.
The CG explained to the committee that delivery of petroleum products is typically allowed first, and payment is made retrospectively. He further states that payments are usually settled around the 25th of each month, after the total quantity uplift by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) is determined.
The Committee further inquired how taxes are applied to petroleum products in transit. In his response, the CG stated that all petroleum products in transit only attract a processing fee of 1.5%. He further indicated that while these trucks were previously escorted to the designated border exit points, the Authority has since implemented an electronic tracking system to monitor their movement.
The Committee asked whether GRA had received an intelligence report concerning the alleged sale of 36,953.614 metric tons of petroleum products valued at USD 30 million. He responded in the affirmative. He further stated that, based on their report review, Apogee FZC was not found to have violated any international trade laws. However, it was observed that Creed Energy and Ultimate Biege Logistics (UBL), although registered in The Gambia, had failed to pay the appropriate taxes applicable to them. As a result, the GRA conducted a Best of Judgement (BOJ) assessment on both entities
under the legal provision that allows such action in cases where registered businesses fail to file tax returns. The objective of the BOJ assessment was to prompt compliance and recover revenue due to the State.
The Committee sought to know whether the GRA had any prior knowledge of the operations of the aforementioned companies in the country. The CG responded that the Authority became aware of their activities only after receiving the FIU report. Subsequently, it was established that the companies had been conducting business within the jurisdiction without fulfilling their tax obligations. The CG added that while these companies were not recognised as OMCs, they had been selling petroleum products to licensed OMCs.
The Committee inquired about the procedures for issuing Tax Identification Numbers (TINs). In his response, the CG stated that submitting a company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association is required to issue a TIN. In that regard, the committee requested copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association for Creed Energy and Ultimate Biege Logistics.
The Committee asked whether the GRA was aware of Apogee FZC’s existence before the FIU report.
The CG confirmed that the Authority only came to know of Apogee FZE following the report. The Committee further inquired about Apogee Limited Gambia, which was reportedly registered in The Gambia in January 2024 and therefore, requested the following documents:
1. The Memorandum and Articles of Association for Apogee Limited, Gambia,
2. Any available tax returns filed by the entity,
3. Any other relevant information that may assist the Committee in its inquiry.
The Committee also inquired whether the GRA knew of the ongoing court case involving Creed Energy, Access Bank Gambia Limited, and Ultimate Biege Logistics. The CG confirmed that the Authority was aware of the matter and had taken steps to join the case, given the companies’ failure to submit their tax returns. However, the CG reported that the court struck out the GRA’s motion to join the case.
In response to a follow-up question regarding whether the GRA had appealed the ruling, the Authority’s Director of Legal and Board Services informed the Committee that they did not file an appeal. He further indicated that the decision not to appeal was based on the assessment that funds belonging to the companies in question might be transferred to Apogee FZC in Dubai before the appeal process could be concluded. Furthermore, since Creed Energy and Ultimate Biege Logistics were registered and operational within the Authority, it believed it could pursue alternative administrative measures to recover outstanding taxes.
The CG added that Creed Energy’s Legal team engaged them regarding their tax obligations. The company had indicated they would consult their tax advisers and revert to the Authority. Nevertheless, the CG confirmed that the GRA retains the option of instituting legal proceedings or taking enforcement measures, such as blocking the Companies’ access to the ASYCUDA World system, to ensure compliance and protect public revenue.
Findings
1. The investigation learned that even though Creed Energy and Ultimate were legally registered in the country and were issued TIN Certificates at registration, the authority did not maintain taxpayer files for them.
2. The Committee observed that the authority only became interested in making the best-of-judgement assessments of the two companies after receiving the STR report from the FIU.
3. The Committee observed that Creed Energy and Ultimate Biege Logistics, which are established and conducting business within the jurisdiction, have not fulfilled their quarterly and annual returns per the Income and Value Added Tax Act 2012 requirements.
4. The committee also observed that GRA did not pursue any other mechanism to assess tax obligations for both companies after making the best judgement assessment up to the time of finalising this report, and they have not taken alternative administrative measures to recover outstanding taxes or fresh action from the two companies.
The committee noted GRA did not extend its Tax assessment/research, especially about the shipment of funds by Apogee FZC to its foreign bank account, as contained in the FIU.
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