Audit Finds Office of the President Failed to Deduct D270,699 in Withholding Tax on Charter Flight Payment

By Fatou Sillah

The National Audit Office has found that the Office of the President failed to deduct and remit D270,699 in withholding tax on a D9,023,300 payment made to Sam Airways for the charter of a private jet used by President Adama Barrow and his delegation to attend the 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja, Nigeria.

The finding is contained in the 2025 Audit Report on the Government Accounts, which examined public expenditures for the financial year ending Dec. 31, 2025.

According to the audit, the payment covered the hire of a private aircraft for eight passengers traveling to the ECOWAS summit held from Dec. 13 to Dec. 15, 2025. Auditors found that the required withholding tax was neither deducted from the payment nor remitted to the Gambia Revenue Authority, contrary to the requirements of the Public Finance Act.

The auditors said the omission violated the Income and Value Added Tax Act, 2012, deprived the government of revenue, and risked establishing a precedent that could encourage future non-compliance with tax obligations.

“The non-deduction violated the Income and Value Added Tax Act 2012, denied the government much-needed public revenue, and could set a precedent that may encourage further non-compliance,” the report states.

The audit recommends that the Office of the President explain the non-compliance and strengthen its financial controls to ensure withholding tax is consistently deducted and remitted for all non-exempt vendors in accordance with the law.

In its response, the Office of the President acknowledged the finding, describing the omission as an oversight.

“Management has noted the query concern. The non-deduction of withholding tax was an oversight at the time of making the payment. Going forward, management will work with the Accountant General’s Department to ensure the right selection of vendors and related tax rates in the system, such that the deduction is automatically generated,” the response states.

The auditors accepted the explanation but said they would monitor the implementation of the corrective measures during future audits.

“Management’s explanations are noted,” the auditors said. “The audit team will follow up in subsequent audits.”