Democratic Republic of Congo authorities have sealed the offices and seized the accounts of the local branch of Vodacom over a tax dispute.
In a statement, Vodacom said “On 6 and 7 December 2022, agents of the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI) presented themselves at our technical, commercial and administrative offices and proceeded with the installation of seals.”
The dispute relates to a tax audit for the period 2016-2019 by the DGI, which resulted in an adjustment of US$243 million in July 2021, the statement said. The amount was later reduced.
Vodacom has disputed the decision and lodged an appeal with judicial authorities last month, it said, but the DGI has initiated actions to forcibly recover the sum.
DRC authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.
The DRC has been in a long-running dispute with all its phone operators over its efforts to impose more taxes without allowing companies to increase prices for consumers.
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The government adopted a new tax imposing levies on every phone call, text message and megabyte of data in March.
The tax replaced another levy that was withdrawn a month earlier after sparking public protests and a parliamentary inquiry into where the revenue was going.
Vodacom said it had taken measures to ensure the continuity of its services and was using every legal recourse.
Ghana
In Ghana, Vodafone was caught in a similar situation over some GHS160 million tax dispute in 2017. It was in connections with some GHS2.1 billion Vodafone shipped out of Ghana between 2012 and 2016 without paying taxes on them.
Vodafone had argued that it had clearance from the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) to do those transfers, but the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), which the tax collector insisted Vodafone had to pay taxes on those transfers under the Technology Transfers Regulation.
Vodafone sued the GRA for insisting on collecting the money but later withdrew its lawsuit and agreed to pay the said taxes, after the details of the GHS2.1 billion transfers became public.
