GRA Confirms Fuel Levy Increase Effective June 9

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has officially announced that revised fuel levies will take effect from Monday, June 9, 2025. The changes come under the amended Energy Sector Levies Act, 2025 (Act 1141), and are detailed in Tariff Interpretation Order (TIO) No. 2025/003, which provides guidance on the new rates and their implementation.

The updated levies aim to raise additional revenue to support the energy sector, clear outstanding debts, and ensure a stable national power supply.

According to the GRA, the following increases will apply to key petroleum products:

• Motor Spirit (Super Petrol): from GHS0.95 to GHS1.95

• Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) and Marine Gas Oil (Foreign): from GHS0.93 to GHS1.93

• Marine Gas Oil (Local): from GHS0.03 to GHS0.23

• Heavy Fuel Oil (Residual Fuel Oil – RFO): from GHS0.04 to GHS0.24

• Partially Refined Oil (Naphtha): from GHS0.95 to GHS1.95

• Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG): remains unchanged at GHS0.73

These rates will apply to all fuel products not lifted before June 9, 2025.

Transitional Guidelines

To ensure a smooth transition:

• Products lifted by Petroleum Product Marketing Companies (PPMCs) before June 9 will still attract the old levy rates.

• Any “cash-and-carry” fuel lifted from June 1 onwards will be charged at the new rates, regardless of earlier arrangements.

Commissioner-General Anthony Kwasi Sarpong signed the directive and called on fuel stations and port authorities to fully comply.

Additionally, the Bioland Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) platform is being introduced to enhance transparency and better coordinate energy and environmental planning.

Criticism from IMANI’s Kofi Bentil

Meanwhile, IMANI-Africa’s Senior Vice President, Kofi Bentil, has harshly criticized the government’s approach, warning that raising levies will not fix the sector’s deep-rooted problems.

Speaking on Joy News on Saturday, June 7, Bentil argued that mismanagement and corruption—not funding—are the real issues.

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

Bentil also questioned the effectiveness of previous interventions like the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA), suggesting that systemic reforms are needed instead of new financial burdens on citizens.