Parkop explains GST payment

NATIONAL Capital District (NCD) Governor Powes Parkop says that the NCD Commission is not obligated to pay GST (goods and services tax) to Central.
He said in a statement that NCDC had been helping the neighbouring province with cash grants.
“The recent assistance ranges on an average of K13 million to K14 million per year,” Parkop said.
“All the records on these payments are available and can be provided where necessary.
“In the past, NCDC Act was amended contrary to the essence of the agreed revenue distribution strategy as promulgated in the Inter-Governmental Relations (Functions and Funding) Financing Act.
“Due to the inconsistency and technical errors in the unilateral amendments, NCDC continued to honour the legally mandated provision of sharing 5 per cent of our GST with Central.”
Parkop said the legal battle initiated by the Central government resulted in the Supreme Court making its final decision that NCDC was not responsible for paying any GST to Central (SCA 89 of 2013 and SC1429 of 2015) besides prohibiting the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) from taking any money out of NCD’s share for Central.
He said the two important decisions of the Supreme Court pertaining to the findings and orders in their judgment that should be adhered to are that NCDC was not responsible for paying GST to Central from its share and that it was IRC’s responsibility to work out how they paid and whose share of GST be paid to Central.
Parkop said the effect of the judgment was that the Treasury Department had no choice except to pay any money to Central through budgetary appropriation.
“IRC, however, cannot pay anything directly to Central except the distribution that belongs to Central,” he said.
“The amendments made to Section 45 (1) of the Inter-Governmental Relations (Functions and Funding) Financing Act restrains IRC from deviating the formula of GST distribution set by the law.
Parkop also welcomed Prime Minister James Marape’s decision to direct Treasury to sort out Central’s financial issues.
He said this put to an end the continuous misrepresentation that NCDC was responsible for GST payment to Central or IRC to pay out NCD’s share; neither is legal.
“I stand ready to co-operate and assist Central in any manner that enables them to deliver a capital city of their own,” Parkop said.