The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has urged the Ministry of Finance to convene a stakeholder forum to address concerns surrounding the new petroleum levy and ensure smooth implementation.

COPEC warned that enforcing the GH¢1 levy on all petroleum products would be “problematic” if stakeholder concerns, including those from the Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), were ignored.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, said the levy would “stretch the tax stream” on petroleum products, stressing that stakeholder acceptability was key to compliance.

“Implementation of the levy will face a lot of bottlenecks if we do not engage further. The concerns raised by some stakeholders give the indication that there has not been much engagement.

"Some bit more assurance is required so that they (stakeholders) can accept the levy wholeheartedly,” he stated.

Parliament last week amended the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA) to introduce a GHS1 increase in the Energy Sector Recovery Levy, projected to generate $5.7 billion annually.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) initially scheduled the levy’s implementation for Monday, June 9, 2025, but postponed it to June 16, 2025, following objections by COMAC, which argued the timeline was too short and “not operationally feasible.”

The GPRTU has rejected the levy and threatened to suspend services from Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Mr Amoah described the GHS1 levy as significant, noting that stakeholder reactions were expected.

He stressed that transport operators would be the most affected and should be “engaged in earnest.”

Mr Amoah appealed to the GPRTU to “review the strike action” and “give a window for negotiations.”