Transport operators to halt intended 15% increment in fares if. . .
“If the Special Petroleum Tax – GHp46, Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy – GHp14 or Marketers Margin – GHp46 are taken or scrapped, that would be reasonable for us to reconsider our decision to increase transport fares.”
Road transports operators say they will only rescind their planned increment of transport fares by 15 percent if the government is able scrap some of the levies and taxes on petroleum products “reasonably”.
The operators say some of the taxes will be insignificant even if it is scrapped but reasonable ones could be scrapped to cushion consumers and operators in the country and that would guarantee that there would be no increment of transport fares.
The proposed 15 percent increment comes barely after a month of increasing fares by 15 percent which took effect on February 26, 2022.
Taxes and levies on petroleum products
Energy Debt Recovery levy – GHp49, Road Fund Levy – GHp48, Energy Fund Levy – GHp1, Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy – GHp14, Sanitation and Pollution Levy – GHp10, Energy Sector Recovery Levy – GHp20, Special Petroleum Tax – GHp46, Primary Distribution Margin – GHp11, BOST Margin – GHp9, Fuel Marking Margin – GHp5, Marketers Margin – GHp46 and Dealers (retailers/operators) Margin – GHp30.
Speaking to on 3FM‘s Sunrise on Tuesday, March 22, the Head of Industrial Relations for the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Alhaji Abbas Ibrahim Moro, told host Alfred Ocansey that “if the government is able to scrap Energy Fund Levy – GHp1, Primary Distribution Margin – GHp11 and Recovery Levy – GHp20, that will not be reasonable because they are insignificant”.
“If the Special Petroleum Tax – GHp46, Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy – GHp14 or Marketers Margin – GHp46 are taken or scrapped, that would be reasonable for us to reconsider our decision to increase transport fares.”
Alhaji Moro explained that “those are the reasonable ones that if the government could take off, it will help. If it is true that they would scrap some of the taxes and levies, then it would be reasonable and we won’t increase transport fares by the 15%”.
Meanwhile, information available to Sunrise indicates that the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Energy Ministry are meeting over the directives by the President through the Finance Ministry to have a look at which of the levies and taxes must be scrapped.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana
