Telecommunication audit is the act of conducting a review, examination and reconciliation of invoices and contract agreements in order to determine the level of tax compliance of telecommunication companies.

Telecommunication audit comprises of;

i) Mast and base station: Before a telecommunication company mounts a mast and base station, there has to an approval from the state government after which the following payments have to be made;

• Application fee
• Assessment fee
• Environmental assessment fee

ii) Withholding Tax: The payments for the lands where the mast and base station is located which is either owned by an individual, a firm or the government attracts withholding tax.

 

iii) Right-of-way: The state or federal governments grants the telecommunication firms right to way to install fibre optic cables which is usually measured in meters and charged per meter.

 

iv) Annual maintenance charge: The annual maintenance fee is charged on the right of way granted by the government and it is usually of the amount charge per meter on the right of way.

 

Mazars Consulting functions as a TAMA to RTAs in conducting telecommunication audit and performs the following:

Procedure:

• A notification letter will be written and sent to the company to be audited and an audit date will be fixed.
• There should be a physical verification of all locations on the location list provided by the firm to confirm the approval by the government.
• Conduct a thorough analysis of payment of all approved locations, applications and contract agreement.
• After the audit a comprehensive audit report will be prepared. If there are any outstanding liabilities, a demand notice will be raised and sent to the firm.

 

If accepted by the audited firm, the outstanding liability is paid. If not, an objection letter will be written by the audited firm clearly stating their reasons for the objection alongside the necessary supporting documents.