South Africa’s foreign minister Naledi Pandor on Friday called on mobile operator MTN Group (MTNJ.J) and the Ghana Revenue Authority to find a solution to a $773 million tax dispute.
Earlier this month MTN said the Ghana Revenue Authority issued the company’s subsidiary MTN Ghana (MTNGH.GH) with a bill for back taxes after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018 and inferring that it had under-declared its revenue by about 30% during the period.
MTN, which has a presence in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said at the time that it disputed the “accuracy and basis” of the assessment and that it would fight it.
Minister Pandor was briefed on the issue this week and called “on the parties involved to do everything possible to find an amicable solution,” South Africa’s Department Of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.