The managing director of La Bianca Company Ltd, Etse Gadegbeku, has denied all allegations of tax evasion relating to import duties, and of associated loss of revenue to the state, levelled against his company by a Ghanaian citizen, one Fred Asare.
La Bianca Company Ltd is believed to be owned by a member of the eighth Council of State, Eunice Jacqueline Buah.
Denies tax evasion
In an exclusive interview with Asaaseradio.com, Gadegbeku declared that the petition filed by Asare against La Bianca Company is part of a plan by the firm’s competitors to play dirty as the Yuletide approaches.
“We operate in a highly competitive environment and I strongly believe these are bad tactics by our competitors to smear the image of the company and the CEO, Honourable Eunice Buah Asomah Hinneh, to gain advantage for the upcoming busy Christmas season. This is the latest move after all attempts by them had failed,” Gadegbeku said.
“We strongly deny the allegation of corruption and import duties evasion. La Bianca Company went through all the legal and proper application processes before the discount was given.
“The substance of their petition does not deny the practice of applying for discount, and failed to address the valuable contributions that the company is making to society as an indigenous Ghanaian business led by a woman.”
GPHA board
He added: “Honourable Eunice Buah, the CEO of the company, did not at any point in the process influence the decision because of her status as a Council of State representative.”
According to Mr Gadegbeku, Mrs Eunice Buah Asomah Hinneh previously served on the board of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
However, she is no longer a member of the GPHA board as alleged by the petitioner Fred Asare. Furthermore, GPHA has no control over the activities of the Customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.
The petition
According to the petition, dated 16 November 2021 and addressed to the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Adjabeng, the complainant (Fred Asare), is a citizen of Ghana who is committed to ensuring good governance and accountability on the part of state institutions, with the aim of optimising revenue mobilisation for national development.
Asare contends in the petition that “La Bianca Company Limited purportedly applied to the Commissioner, Customs Division, on 21 October 2021 for consideration on customs import values for certain products it had imported into the country”.
“Pursuant to the said application, the Deputy Commissioner, Operations, Customs Division, by a letter dated 26 October 2021 purportedly granted a 10% mark-down of the approved benchmark values for imported frozen foods from 26 October 2021 to 31 December 2021.
“In the said letter, the Deputy Commissioner, Operations, Customs Division, cited Section 12 of the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) as the basis of the discount of a 10% mark-down he granted the company,” Asare said.
The complainant further claims in his petition that “Section 12 of the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) deals with the subject matter of ‘Advance Ruling’ and does not support the grant of 10% mark-down given to the company by customs, given the nature and content of the application in issue.”
Claim of arbitrary waiver
Asare says in his petition that, to this end, “grant of the 10% markdown on legally prescribed benchmark values to La Bianca was done arbitrarily with this known process” and that “the grant of the 10% mark-down is illegal, as same is contrary to Section 12 of the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) and the long-standing practices of the Ghana Revenue Authority”.
“The approved 10% mark-down to La Bianca Company Limited was done in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner with intent to unduly favour La Bianca Company Limited over its business competitors,” the petition reads.
Call for SP to act
The petitioner concludes his petition by stating that “if the Office of the Special Prosecutor does not intervene, the La Bianca Company and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority will continue to perpetuate this illegality, leading to more revenue losses to the state and the collapse of the local poultry industry and the businesses of their competitors in the imported frozen food industry”.
Wilberforce Asare
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