The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has announced its intent to take 47 Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to court on February 22, 2023 for failing to pay outstanding debts.
The debts in question are levies collected on every liter of fuel sold to consumers as Primary Distributors Margin (PDM). The NPA has stated that if the debts are not paid by the set date, the names of the directors and the amount owed will be made public.
In January 2023, the NPA revoked the licenses of 30 OMCs for violating industry regulations. The NPA listed the companies as being owed over ¢400 million cedis in unpaid taxes by the end of 2022.
The public was warned that engaging with these OMCs was done at their own risk.
In September 2022, the NPA went after the directors and shareholders of 45 OMCs over debts totaling more than ¢400 million, including margins and other levies collected since 2021 but not paid to the NPA.
Out of this debt, ¢68 million cedis was from the Primary Distribution Margin Fund, which was paid by consumers at the pumps and was supposed to be repaid to the regulator at the end of every operational month.
The NPA gave these companies until the end of September 2022 to settle their debts and warned that failure to do so would result in the publishing of the names of the directors and shareholders in the national newspapers.
The NPA also indicated that it would not hesitate to take necessary legal action against the directors of these firms.
Source: norvanreports.com