An “irregular procedure” with manual invoicing “which is outside the tax circuit” has come to light, a director of the Mozambican tax authorities (AT) alleges. Galp claims not to have been notified “of any irregularity”.
A senior official in the Tax Authority of Mozambique (AT) alleges that Galp fuel stations have committed irregularities in invoicing and purchases suggestive of tax evasion, in a case of which the oil company says it is unaware and claims to find “strange”.
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“Clearly, this company’s gas stations have followed irregular procedures,” AT deputy-director general of taxes Domingos Muconto has said, quoted by the daily ‘Notícias’, which headlined with the matter on Tuesday.
Muconto led an inspection team to gas stations in Maputo, this week, and told journalists that there was an “irregular procedure” with manual invoicing “which is outside the tax circuit” and with fuel purchases for more than one station, “probably” concealing part of it from the tax authorities.
“This also indicates that Galp puts into the market a lot of fuel outside normal channels,” Muconto said in statements reproduced by Radio Mozambique, according to which the inspection was triggered by a tip off.
Muconto said that the authenticity of the licences for the gas stations concerned was still being investigated.
Contacted by Lusa, Galp denied the accusations, saying that it learned about them “through the media, with astonishment” and adding that it was not notified “of any irregularity” within the scope of the inspection carried out.
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“Moreover, Galp cannot help but be surprised – and regret – that such serious accusations, with such damage to the company’s image and reputation, are made to the media without any formal process having taken place, and without the company having been informed of the facts found, or given an opportunity to clarify them,” Galp added in response to questions raised by Lusa.
The oil company says that its performance has even been “recurrently distinguished by the Tax Authority itself”, including in March this year, and that, in addition, it was a company of “rigor and transparency”, exhaustively audited, listed on the stock exchange, and with international shareholder participation. The company adds that it “contributes as part of the solution to lessen the impact of the current global energy crisis on the lives of Mozambicans, as it has been doing over the last few months”.
Present in Mozambique for 65 years – since colonial times – Galp operates a network of gas stations throughout the country and is part of the cooking gas marketing chain in Mozambique. In November, the company inaugurated improvements worth €10.6 million at its Matola gas bottling plant on the outskirts of Maputo.
The oil company is also part (with a 10% share) of the Rovuma Basin Area 4 natural gas consortium led by Eni and Exxon Mobil, which will start exporting from the offshore Cabo Delgado reserves in the coming months
