The Ghanaian team that secured the over $393 million tax arbitration victory against Tullow
Alongside the Attorney-General and his deputy, the Ghanaian team included Solicitor-General Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu and state attorneys Anna Pearl Akiwumi Siriboe, Grace Oppong Dolphy and Adwoa Obenewah Amoah. The Ghana Revenue Authority also worked with the lawyers in defending the assessment.
A Ghanaian legal team led by Attorney-General Dominic Akuritinga Ayine and Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai worked alongside international law firm Foley Hoag to secure victory for Ghana in a tax arbitration brought by Tullow Ghana Limited.
According to Foley Hoag’s account of the decision, the tribunal, constituted under the Rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), dismissed all of Tullow’s claims and upheld the Ghana Revenue Authority’s tax assessment of more than US$393 million, including a 100 per cent penalty.
The dispute concerned Tullow’s income tax liability for the 2016–2019 tax years on proceeds received from business interruption insurance.
Alongside the Attorney-General and his deputy, the Ghanaian team included Solicitor-General Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu and state attorneys Anna Pearl Akiwumi Siriboe, Grace Oppong Dolphy and Adwoa Obenewah Amoah. The Ghana Revenue Authority also worked with the lawyers in defending the assessment.
Their collaboration with Foley Hoag supported Ghana’s defence against Tullow’s challenges to the income tax assessment, the penalty, the time limits for assessing certain tax years and the GRA’s enforcement proceedings.
Foley Hoag’s team was led by partner Tafadzwa Pasipanodya and included Nicholas Renzler, Nour Nicolas, Sun Young Hwang, Jago Chanter and Bojana Bilankov. Peter Shults of Shults Law Firm served as co-counsel.
The tribunal unanimously declared that the GRA’s assessment did not breach Article 12 of the Petroleum Agreements. It upheld the income tax assessment and the penalty, while rejecting Tullow’s limitation challenge concerning the 2016 and 2017 tax years.
The tribunal also held that the GRA’s enforcement proceedings in January 2023 did not breach Article 24.10 of the Deepwater Tano Petroleum Agreement.
Pasipanodya described the ruling as “a resounding victory for the Republic of Ghana and the Ghana Revenue Authority.”
She explained that the tribunal applied the standard used by the Ghanaian Supreme Court when reviewing administrative decisions. It examined whether the GRA’s conclusions could reasonably have been reached on the material before it.
In her assessment, the award also held significance for other states defending tax revenue measures, reflecting the caution exercised by arbitral tribunals when reviewing a sovereign state’s tax administration.
The successful defence brought together Ghana’s senior legal officials, state attorneys, revenue authorities and international counsel, securing the dismissal of all claims brought by the country’s largest petroleum producer.
