In a strongly worded letter addressed to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has issued a firm rejection of the GRA’s directive to implement the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy (ESSDRL) effective Monday, June 9, 2025. The letter, dated June 8, expresses dismay at what the Chamber describes as a coercive and operationally unfeasible demand that threatens the stability of Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.
The GRA’s letter, delivered on Sunday morning and dated Friday, June 6, a public holiday, ordered immediate implementation of the new ESSDRL tariff under the Energy Sector Levies Act, 2025 (Act 1141). COMAC decries the timing and method of communication as “institutional ambush,” arguing it borders on coercion rather than governance.
“This Is Not Lawful, Nor Feasible”
COMAC states plainly: “This approach is neither lawful nor operationally feasible. It smacks of coercion rather than governance and depicts a military regime.” The Chamber insists that backdating a directive on a holiday and serving it on a weekend for next-day compliance reflects poor institutional planning and disregard for due process.
According to the Chamber, their leadership met with the Minister for Energy and Green Transition just days earlier, on June 5, to propose practical solutions and voice industry concerns. Yet, those inputs, COMAC claims were ignored. “That engagement, it appears, was merely ceremonial,” the letter asserts.
A Sector Already Buckling Under Tax Pressure
The downstream petroleum sector, COMAC argues, is already overwhelmed with eight different taxes and levies, amounting to 22% of the ex-pump price of fuel. With the ESSDRL introduction, that figure climbs to 26%. COMAC warns that this will seriously affect competitiveness, industry survival, and consumer welfare.
“Worse still,” the Chamber says, “the abrupt implementation denies our members, OMCs [Oil Marketing Companies], the lead time needed to adjust systems, prices, and inventory.” Many OMCs operate on a cash-and-carry system, meaning they would have to generate funds overnight for an unexpected tax, a logistical and financial impossibility.
A Call for Sanity—and a New Start Date
COMAC is unequivocal in its position: “COMAC and its members cannot and will not begin implementation of this levy from Monday, 9th June.” Instead, they are requesting a minimum two-week transition period, proposing a new effective date of Sunday, 16th June 2025. This, they argue, will allow industry players time to align with the fiscal change and avoid chaos at the pumps.
“This must not be reduced to a technocratic rush to impress,” the letter concludes. “We are industry stakeholders, not bystanders, and we deserve better than Rambo-style directives in the middle of a weekend.”
The Bigger Picture
The clash between COMAC and the GRA is more than just a disagreement it exposes the growing strain between government regulators and private players in Ghana’s energy space. With a US$3 billion hole to fill, the government is leaning heavily on fuel levies to patch things up. But that weight is falling squarely on the shoulders of fuel consumers and businesses. As the June 9 deadline looms, it’s unclear whether the GRA will hold its ground or pull back—but one thing’s certain: industry players aren’t staying silent. They’re pushing back, and hard.
The High Street Journal will continue monitoring this unfolding standoff and its implications for fuel prices, supply chain stability, and governance accountability in Ghana.
