The interim relief judge dismisses the Summa group’s claim

The Summa group has lost a battle in the standoff with the Senegalese tax administration. Indeed, the summary proceedings brought by Summa Turizm and Summa Construction Senegal Sarl have not been successful, the daily newspaper Libération reported on Tuesday. The two companies in the Summa group had filed summary proceedings on difficulty to obtain the suspension of the tax action.

However, on July 28, the interim relief judge ordered the continuation of proceedings without delay and without new interim relief with regard to Summa Turizm. In addition, Summa Construction Senegal’s application was simply declared inadmissible. As previously revealed, the tax authorities had carried out a tax audit on Summa Construction Senegal Sarl, a Turkish company that had won many major projects in Senegal such as the construction of AIBD, CICAD, the Me Abdoulaye Wade stadium, Dakar Arena and the exhibition center.

Following this audit, the tax authorities detected several tax irregularities and corrected Summa Construction Senegal Sarl to the tune of 4 billion FCFA. In its defense, Summa Construction Senegal Sarl claimed that the facts in question concerned Summa Turizm Senegal, which was just another facet of the company. However, the tax authorities, determined to recover the amounts claimed, rejected this argument.