Ahead of the 2025 budget and economic policy delivery slated for March 11, 2025, the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG) is calling on government to remove excise tax on fruit juice.

According to FABAG, the removal of the tax will boost production and renew investor confidence.

This was revealed in a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of FABAG, John Awuni.

The association in recent times has lamented on the negative effects of the tax build up on their operations.

“The introduction and imposition of the obnoxious excise tax on sweetened and fruit drinks under Excise Duty (Amendments) Act 2023 (Act 1093) especially on locally produced fruit juices and sweetened beverages has had a devastating negative effect on local manufacturing,” the statement said.

“This has had a multiplier effect on employment levels, sales turnover, working capital and international market competitiveness of Ghanaian fruit juices and sweetened beverages,”  it added.

The statement further alluded that the move will be key in improving revenue generation.

“The removal of these taxes in the Government’s first budget statement is very key to boosting domestic production and increased revenue mobilization by the GRA".

The statement went ahead to outline how tax burdening is hurting the sector.

“Sales have dropped by over 50%. Net revenue generated to government has in fact reduced and not increased. The local industry has severely been crippled since the introduction of this Excise Tax more especially as the local industry is already overburdened with an avalanche of taxes,” he said.

In an interview with JoyBusiness, Mr. Awuni emphasized that the successful removal of taxes will support President Mahama’s 24-Hour economic policy and expand new manufacturing firms in the industry.

The tax build-up on raw materials for manufacturers

1.            Import Duty

2.            Import VAT

3.            ECOWAS Levy

4.            Network Charge

5.            Network Charge VAT

6.            Network Charge COVID-19 Health

7.            Network Charge NHIL

8.            Ghana Shippers Authority SNF Fee

9.            Import NHIL

10.         GHS Disinfection Fee

11.         MoTI-IDF Fee

12.         Special Import Levy

13.         Ghana Export-Import Bank (EXIM) Levy

14.         Ghana Education Trust (GET) Fund Import

15.         Network Charge GET Fund Levy

16.         Inspection Fee

17.         African Union Import Levy

18.         COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy

19.         15% VAT

20.         Container fumigation fees at the Port