Ghana’s New Energy Sector Levy Takes Effect From June 9

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says new levy rates on petroleum products in Ghana will take effect from Monday, June 9, 2025, under the revised Energy Sector Levies Act, 2025 (Act 1141).

GRA made the announcement through the Tariff Interpretation Order (TIO) No. 2025/003, which seeks to clarify and enforce the implementation of the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act.

The Act was introduced to raise additional revenue to address energy sector shortfalls, reduce legacy debts, and stabilise the country’s power supply.

The GRA directive outlines significant increases in the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy on a range of petroleum products, including petrol, diesel, marine gas oil, and heavy fuel oil.

Under the new directive:

Motor Spirit (Super Petrol): from Ghc0.95 to Ghc1.95
AGO/Diesel and Marine Gas Oil (Foreign): from Ghc0.93 to Ghc1.93
Marine Gas Oil (Local): from Ghc0.03 to Ghc0.23
Heavy Fuel Oil (Residual Fuel Oil – RFO): from Ghc0.04 to Ghc0.24
Partially Refined Oil (Naphtha): from Ghc0.95 to Ghc1.95
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) remains unchanged at Ghc0.73
The new rates apply to all petroleum products not lifted before June 9, 2025.

However, transitional arrangements have been put in place:

Products lifted by a Petroleum Product Marketing Company (PPMC) before June 9 will still be subject to the old levy rates.
Any “cash-and-carry” transactions by PMMCs, for which products are lifted on or after June 1, 2025, will be subject to the new rates.
Commissioner-General of the GRA, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, signed the directive and urged all ports and fuel stations to strictly comply.

The Bioland Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) platform is expected to complement the initiative by improving transparency and coordination in national energy and environmental planning.

Meanwhile, Lawyer and Senior Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Kofi Bentil, has slammed the government’s handling of the energy sector, warning that new fuel levies will do little to address the deep-rooted issues of mismanagement and graft.

Speaking on Joy News on Saturday, June 7, Bentil dismissed the rationale behind the recently introduced fuel levy, stating that taxes cannot solve what he described as a “problem of incompetence and corruption” in Ghana’s energy sector.

“The problem in our energy sector will not be solved by taxes. The problem in our energy sector is a problem of incompetence and corruption,” Bentil said, adding “The people who run the energy sector—check—when they leave, they leave very rich.”

Source: Africa Publicity