The Deputy Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Joseph Adu-Kyei, who was exonerated by an Accra High Court over the Labianca report, says he does not understand why he was transferred to the Ministry of Finance.
Commissioner Joseph Adu-Kyei is questioning what he is doing at the Ministry of Finance while his expertise in revenue generation is being wasted.
An Accra High Court cleared Mr. Adu-Kyei and the former Commissioner of Customs at GRA, Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), of any wrong doing over the Labianca report on November 27, 2023.
The court, in its judgement, awarded GH₵10,000 cost against the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). The two had sued the OSP over the Labianca report implicating them.
The report alleged that the two officials used their positions to grant favourable tax treatment to Labianca Company, owned by Council of State member Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinneh.
Reacting to the ruling on Onua TV, Mr. Adu-Kyei explained that “Labianca brought an invoice that we should allow her bring goods into the country.
“I was the Director of Operations then so I sent it to the values unit to work on it. They [valued unit and] came to report that her benchmark was not varied so we could give them bench value because Labianca brings in more goods.”
Mr. Adu-Kyei explained that “we gave Labianca a benchmark of 5% of which the law allows that”.
“But I wrote to Labianca that if in case we find out she did not tell the truth, we shall cancel the benchmark. So, I was there when the OSP called me that I should come and explain why we granted the benchmark and I showed them the law which required that we grant Labianca that request”, he added.
The Deputy Commissioner further noted that “the law was there long ago. Some companies had benefited because its part of customs regulations”.
History of the law
There was agreement of a discount of 5 percent for eight containers and 8 percent for 20 containers of frozen fish and meat products.
More than 20 containers of such products attracted a discount of 12 percent.
“In 2018, traders who import fish into the country met with our leaders on the reduction of their import duties. We set up a committee to look into it and we agreed that if you bring more than eight containers, we should reduce it to 5% and Labianca was bringing 275 containers so I gave Labianca 5% which the law required,” Mr. Adu-Kyei explained.
He further indicated that the Valuation Unit at CTSB found Labianca values lower than established bench mark.
Advice to OSP & Board
Mr. Adu-Kyei said when the issue happened, “the board should have called me but no one called us. We have been insulted. Lawyers, MPs, professors, the whole world have insulted and humiliated us”.
Asked whether they would seek revenge by going to court for defamation of character, the Deputy Commissioner said “we shall leave that to our lawyer”.
“If there is a way of suing, we shall do so, if not, we shall leave it to God. We shall leave it to God. We leave those who insulted and humiliated us to God. Someone who has worked to the highest level and have almost reached my retirement, I have been transferred to Finance Ministry on secondment, what am I doing at the Finance Ministry?”
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|onuaonline.com|Ghana
