Ghana wins $393m tax dispute against Tullow
Announcing the outcome in a statement on Wednesday, September 30, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said the government would implement the award under Ghanaian law while maintaining Tullow’s capacity to operate and invest in the Jubilee and TEN oilfields.
An international arbitration tribunal has upheld a US$393,091,993.70 tax assessment against Tullow Ghana Limited, dismissing all the company’s claims in a dispute over business interruption insurance proceeds.
The ruling leaves the Ghana Revenue Authority’s assessment intact, with the tribunal finding that both the penalty and the authority’s enforcement action were lawful.
Announcing the outcome in a statement on Wednesday, September 30, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson said the government would implement the award under Ghanaian law while maintaining Tullow’s capacity to operate and invest in the Jubilee and TEN oilfields.
The tribunal, constituted under the International Chamber of Commerce’s arbitration rules, also found that the assessment did not breach the Petroleum Agreements and had been made within the applicable time limit.
Dr Forson said the decision supported Ghana’s longstanding position that all companies operating in the country must comply with its laws, regardless of their size.
He commended the Office of the Attorney-General, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Republic’s external lawyers, Foley Hoag LLP, for their work in defending the case.
