An Accra Regional Tribunal on Friday granted an application for bail for Boniface Amandi, Managing Director (MD) of Aluminium Enterprises Limited (AEL), Tema, who is being held for tax evasion.

When Amandi appeared before an Osu Community Tribunal on Wednesday, October 10 for evading tax the tribunal turned down his counsel's application for bail.

The tribunal, chaired by Mr George Agyekum Nana Donkor, remanded the accused person in prison custody for one week and ordered that he be sent daily to the offices of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to assist in investigations.

At the community tribunal the prosecution said for five years, from 1995 to 2,000 Amandi's company was in corporate tax arrears and penalties totalling 570 million cedis.

In his submissions before the three-member tribunal, chaired by Mr Justice Adu Gyamfi, Mr Tom Ahlijah, counsel for the accused person said his client was not a "recalcitrant tax dodger" but had rather conformed consistently to the country's tax regulations by furnishing IRS with his returns.

Mr Ahlijah said from 1995 to 1999, AEL made five per cent withholding taxes to the IRS totalling 495 million cedis. Counsel said an IRS letter dated May 9 indicated that the company paid taxes to the tune of 243.5 million cedis.

His said if the withholding tax of 495 million cedis had been taken into account, the two monies would have amounted to 738.6 million cedis.

Mr Ahlijah submitted that it was clear from the foregoing that his client's company did not owe any tax arrears as IRS is alleging.

The tribunal agreed with counsel that, "the whole matter is about reconciliation of accounts," and therefore granted his application for bail.