GREL commits to national development - Picks GRA’s taxpayer award

The Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) has expressed its commitment to meeting its statutory obligations to ensure speedy national development by paying taxes to the state.

At the awards ceremony by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to recognise and appreciate GREL and two others with a certificate for being the best in tax payment and compliance at its Taxpayer Service Centre in Takoradi, the company said it remains dedicated to its good corporate citizenship principles.
 

Socially responsible

The Financial Controller of the company, Mr Joseph Appiah, said the company believes in being a socially responsible business that must meet economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectations at any given time.

 “As a company, we focus on the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic aspects to ensure that we meet our tax obligations to the state and help build the country,” he said.

 The company, he said, was encouraged by the recognition, even though it had received these awards on a few occasions.

However, the continuous recognition is a plus to its commitment to nation-building.
 

Recent destruction

He described the recent destruction of parts of its investment as unfortunate, as it saw the cutting down of more than 30,000 rubber trees, which came as a huge loss to the company, the state and all other stakeholders.

Mr Appiah said aside from the recent destruction, “it is important to let Ghanaians know that illegal mining activities remain another challenge affecting its plantation or investment in the rubber growing regions.

 “As we can process more and the need to increase production to feed the plants, it is instructive to say that the company has galamsey pits dotted in the middle of its plantation,” he said.
 

Govt interest

He said investment in the country has a lot to offer, as the state owns 26.75 per cent interest in its operations, of which aside from the statuaries, the company pays dividends to the state and that GREL is grateful to the tax office for the recognition.

 He said the company would always produce and process high-quality granulated and crumb rubber for international markets towards sustainable growth.

 “Our mission is to develop, support and empower rubber out-growers or the smallholder farmers most cost-effectively,” he said.

For his part, the Takoradi Area Director of GRA, Mr Joseph Boateng, expressed the importance of revenue mobilisation and that the certificate awarded to the company and others would go a long way to enhance their corporate image, for their loyalty and consistency over the years.

 He said some key areas that are considered in tax obligation included the filing of returns and other documents and payment, which is very difficult for some but has been made easier.

 He said GRA will continue to work with all taxpayers and that the recognition was not limited to only GREL Takoradi, but also to two other selected taxpayers who will be at the grand event slated for the last quarter of this year.

 Mr Boateng urged all income-earning individuals, including the self-employed, to file their returns by the end of each month, as well as file their annual return of income at the end of the year and submit them at the GRA offices throughout the country.
 

Background

The Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) started as a small private plantation established by R. T. Briscoe in 1957 at Dixcove, with a plantation size of 923 hectares.

The plantation was nationalised into an Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) in 1960 and later into State Farms Corporation in 1962.

At that time, the rubber plantation had expanded to Abura and Subri.

The Ghana Government, in 1967, established a joint venture company with Firestone Tyre Company of the USA to take over the rubber plantation.

This joint venture company was Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL).

GREL became wholly state-owned in 1980 when Firestone sold its shares in GREL to the Ghana Government.

However, the Ghana Government entered into a financing agreement with the then Caisse Française de Development (CFD), now Agence Française de Development, to rehabilitate and manage the company’s rubber plantation and to build a new rubber processing plant at Apimenim.

After the rehabilitation in 1996, the French management company, Société Internationale de Plantations d'Hévéas (SIPH) became the major shareholder of the company, with Ghana currently holding 26.75 per cent