GIPC tightens oversight of technology transfer agreements

By Juliet ETEFE ([email protected])

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has stepped up efforts to strengthen oversight and compliance with technology transfer agreements (TTAs) as part of its broader strategy to ensure effective regulation and investor protection in the business environment.

At a stakeholder engagement in Accra, GIPC officials reiterated that companies are required by law to register their technology transfer agreements if they involve services such as technical assistance, managerial expertise or the provision of know-how between a foreign entity and a Ghana-based firm.

This, they emphasised, ensures regulatory clarity, transparency in fee transfers and overall compliance with Ghana’s investment framework.

“Over the years, registration of these agreements was handled by our Legal Division. However, to improve efficiency and turnaround times, we now have a dedicated Technology Transfer Agreement Division responsible for reviewing, registering and monitoring all TTA-related submissions,” Head-Technology Transfer Agreement Unit, GIPC, Emmanuel Osei said.

The regulatory framework governing TTAs is grounded in the GIPC Act, 2013 (Act 865) and the Technology Transfer Regulations (LI 1547 of 1992). These laws stipulate that any such agreement should span a minimum of 18 months and not exceed 10 years, with an option to renew for up to five additional years. Agreements must be registered with the GIPC before fees can be legally transferred to the foreign service provider.

Mr. Osei warned that failure to comply with these requirements could result in summary conviction, revocation of GIPC registration and sanctions against facilitating financial institutions.

“The GIPC works in close collaboration with regulators like the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to ensure that no fee transfer occurs under an unregistered TTA. We urge companies to comply or face punitive action,” he said.

In a presentation, a representative from the Bank of Ghana, Abena Sarpong, underscored the central bank’s expectations for regulated financial institutions (RFIs).

“It is a statutory requirement that before any function is outsourced, approval must be sought. RFIs must ensure that before funds are transferred to a foreign entity under a TTA, prior approval is secured from the BoG. Non-compliance attracts sanctions under Section 60(13) of Act 930,” she stated, adding that the BoG will host a compliance forum in last quarter of the year.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), through its Transfer Pricing Unit, also raised red flags regarding compliance challenges observed during audits.

Mr. Basil Kwame Tetteh of GRA noted that many TTAs bundle services such as technical assistance, management and intangible property under a single fee, making it difficult to assess their individual arm’s length values.

“Such bundled arrangements are problematic. Each service should be clearly delineated and companies must maintain adequate documentation – local files, master files and country-by-country reports – as required. These documents are crucial for audits and must be kept contemporaneously,” Mr. Tetteh advised.

He further cautioned against perpetual renewals of agreements that include training components, noting that such agreements are expected to have a sunset clause once knowledge transfer is achieved. “If firms claim to be receiving training yet keep renewing the same agreement, we must ask – where is the knowledge transfer?”

Speaking on reforms, Naa Lamle Orleans-Lindsay, Director-Legal Division, GIPC, disclosed that the Centre is working on a new GIPC bill and a revised legislative instrument to address long-standing challenges and improve regulatory clarity. She revealed that some capital requirements for joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned entities may be removed, while those for trading businesses will remain.

“Based on stakeholder feedback, the new law will streamline TTA registration, enhance collaboration with sector regulators and address bottlenecks. Our goal is to make compliance easier and reduce the turnaround time for approvals,” she assured.

The engagement forum brought together representatives from banks, regulatory bodies, business consultants and corporate executives. It forms part of GIPC’s broader initiative to deepen stakeholder awareness, enhance regulatory processes and foster investor confidence in Ghana’s technology and service sectors.

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