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MTN's nearly R12-billion tax dispute in Ghana is finally over, it said in a notice to shareholders on Friday.
This follows "extensive and productive" talks over the past three weeks between MTN, MTN Ghana and that country's authorities, it said.
MTN – which is Africa's biggest wireless carrier and Ghana's biggest corporate taxpayer – has been trying to resolve a bill that arose when the Ghanaian Revenue Authority (GRA) switched to a new methodology to track call data records based on advice from a third-party consultant, Bloomberg previously reported.
The tax agency claimed for the period between 2014 and 2018 on the grounds that MTN had under-declared revenue by nearly a third (30%). The bill came to an amount of around 8.2 billion cedi (R11.6 billion, based on exchange rates on Friday) including penalties and interest.
"Shareholders are advised that following extensive and productive discussions held during this 21-day period between MTN Ghana, MTN and relevant authorities in Ghana, the GRA has on 03 February 2023 fully withdrawn the assessment.
"MTN would like to further assure shareholders and other stakeholders of MTN Ghana's commitment to the highest standards of tax compliance and responsible corporate citizenship. MTN and MTN Ghana would like to thank all stakeholders involved for the support and collaboration to arrive at this amicable and mutually satisfactory full withdrawal of the assessment," MTN said.
It added that it "remains confident in the economy of Ghana as well as its future prospects", saying it intended to maintain its planned investments and developmental initiatives in the medium term.
This is not the only regulatory battle MTN has faced. It previously successfully challenged a $2 billion tax claim from Nigerian authorities.
