The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has given the Finance Ministry a 14-day ultimatum to suspend the implementation of Section 136 of the revised Customs Act.

According to the Chamber, the failure to do this will result in an emergency general meeting to agree on the next steps through all legitimate administrative, regulatory, and legal channels.

In a statement, COMAC, pointed out that “we have no interest in disruption, given the essential service its members provide to households and businesses”.

It is, however, unable to operate with confidence under a framework that has not been tested, explained, or justified, and which in its view shifts the risk of enforcement failures to operators and ultimately to the Ghanaian consumer.

The Chamber stated that it considers Section 136 to be a transfer of risk and not reform.

“That is why our position remains that existing controls should be enforced, with full transparency on overrides and exceptions and a complete accounting for products, before any replacement of the system is contemplated”, it pointed out.

Again, the Chamber argued that it wants an immediate and indefinite suspension of Section 136to be announced publicly by the Minister of Finance.

It  also wants  the retention of the existing framework: BIDECs to pay import duties and port charges at importation, and OMCs/LPGMCs to continue accounting for taxes and levies ex-pump.

Background

COMAC, in a letter this week seen by JOYBUSINESS argues that it is kicking against the implementation of the sections of the Customs Act due to the fact that Section 136(3) requires a BIDEC to account for tax at the point of sale, while section 136(5) permits the Commissioner-General (CG) to defer payment for up to 21 days via a bank guarantee.

The Chamber went ahead to state that “It migrates liability currently secured by OMC/LPGMC guarantees, bonds, and self-recognisance to the bulk-supply tier.”

It recalled at the meeting that the GRA’s rationale to deal with “fewer entities” and address marketer defaults was unsupported by any memorandum or assessment, highlighting that this stated rationale is flawed.

COMAC  also raised serious concerns about enforcing the act, arguing that the current system is effective when enforced. “GRA would face an impossible choice: enforce and trigger a national supply shock, or forbear and allow arrears to balloon. Risk becomes concentrated, not reduced”.