Post-coronavirus: Mining, oil & gas firms may face compliance issues – PwC partner

George Arhin, a Partner at PwC, has said mining, oil and gas entities may face challenges in complying with regulatory requirements in the local economic environment due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to him, although corporate income tax and employee income tax deadlines have been extended from April 30, 2020, to June 30, 2020, some companies in the value chain may fail to rake in returns amid slowdown in activity.

“Although business activity continues in the mining and oil and gas sectors, companies have to consider external factors, such as the closure of refineries, that may impact sales in order to provide realistic estimates for self-assessments and minimise penalties,” Arhin said in a communique sighted by GhanaWeb.

He added; “the residency status of expatriates working in some firms may be impacted for the purpose of determining their taxable income, tax rate and tax liability. In Ghana, expatriates originally engaged for 183 days or less may now be considered as permanent residents as they are likely to spend more than 183 days in Ghana due to the current border closure.”

Meanwhile, the Chamber of Mines at its recent annual general meeting on Friday, May 29, 2020, revealed the mining sector's total fiscal contribution which was at 7.7 percent of domestic revenue in 2019, was the second-highest after the financial and insurance sectors.

According to the chamber, the share price of the mining and quarrying sector in total direct domestic receipts mobilized by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) improved by some 70 percent from GH¢2.36 billion in 2018 to GH¢4.02 billion in 2019.