News Review: Petroleum Commission declares war on transfer pricing in oil and gas sector

Welcome to Thursday. News making headlines from Wednesday were the arguments about Ghana’s Energy Bond. Today, Citifmonline reported “Minority manufacturing figures in Energy Bond critique – Oppong Nkrumah”. According to the news portal, The Deputy Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has questioned the figures being used by the Minority in Parliament in their claims that the Finance Minister, caused financial loss to the state with the recent issuance of the Energy Sector Bond. The deputy Minister said the Minority was “pulling the figures from the air” rendering its assertions baseless.

The state-owned Graphic disclosed “Ghana loses GH¢700m to smuggling of petroleum products”.  It explained that perpetrators are making enormous profit without honouring their tax obligations to the government.This was disclosed by the Deputy Minister of Energy, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam at the GOIL Dealers and Trade Area Awards last Friday in Accra.

It also reported “Petroleum Commission declares war on transfer pricing in oil and gas sector”. The Petroleum Commission (PC) has warned companies engaged in transfer pricing, which impacts the economy negatively, to stop the practice immediately or face the wrath of the commission. Transfer pricing is an inter-company pricing arrangement between related parties (subsidiaries, sister or parent companies) which entails the transfer of intellectual property, tangible goods, services, raw materials, loans or other financing transactions at ridiculous prices ostensibly to outwit the local environment system.

The Accra-based station, classfmonline also reported “LPG price to go up – NPA” whilst Citifmonline disclosed same “NPA hints of increment in LPG prices”.