In a rare show of honesty and statesmanship, a businessman has rejected a GH¢79.7 million import duty refund awarded to his company because the funds entitled to his company are fa
The report indicates that in a rare show of honesty and statesmanship, a businessman has rejected a GH¢79.7 million import duty refund awarded to his company because the funds entitled to his company are far less than the generous amount the court awarded.
It further notes that the Accra High Court (Commercial Division 3) on July 22, 2026, awarded Henry Manly-Spain’s company, Servistar Minwax (WA) Limited, the amount as a refund of overpayment of duties to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
Mr Manly-Spain told Graphic Online’s Nana Konadu Agyeman that the expected amount from the judgment should be in the region of GH¢8.95 million and not the GH¢79.65 million awarded.
He stated documents he personally gave to his lawyer showed claims of just over GH¢8.95 million, which, with accumulated interest, was expected to rise only slightly above GH¢10 million.
“My conscience will not allow me to accept and enjoy such an amount that is far beyond the value of my original claim,” he said, describing acceptance of the money as a “betrayal of my conscience, my business and the nation,” Mr Manly-Spain said.
“I cannot fathom seeing myself taking such money when I have actually realised the struggles facing the government in providing the basic needs of Ghanaians,” he said.
The businessman has, therefore, petitioned the Commissioner-General of the GRA to disallow the payment of the money, which he described as “in excess of what I expected”.
“I, Henry Manly-Spain, write officially as Director, Servistar Minwax (WA) Limited, and a shareholder, to reject an amount of GH¢79,651,132 judgment debt payment granted to the company against the GRA,” he wrote in the petition.
Per the petition, dated August 1, this year, the businessman stated although the GRA legitimately owed the company, the company could not benefit from the state in the name of an unjustified debt payment.
He, therefore, called for an independent investigation by the GRA, the Economic and Organised Crime Office and other investigative bodies to ensure that money paid to the company “duly merits the company”.
Mr Manly-Spain stated he was initially unaware that his claim had ballooned to more than GH¢79 million since he left the matter largely in the hands of his lawyer after handing over the relevant documents and was usually told that the lawyer was “on it”.
He stated he first heard the GH¢79.7 million figure during court proceedings, when he witnessed a disagreement between his lawyer and a Customs officer.
“I was with a good friend of mine who is also a lawyer. He looked at me, I looked at him, and we both repeated the money, and I shook my head,” he said.
He stated the original claims comprised more than GH¢7 million relating to containers sold by the GRA and about GH¢940,000 in overpaid duties.
