The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) Ghana has asked the government to act on its promise in the 2020 budget to check the frequent increments in fuel taxes which consequently affects the prices of fuel.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director, Duncan Amoah, COPEC said the government must review some of the many taxes in the industry.
“[We call on the government] to review some of the nuisance and needless fuel taxes as we currently have in the price build-up in the country since the 2020 budget has set out in clear terms to focus on clamping down on fuel smuggling which is known to cost the country over GHS1.6 billion in taxes evaded annually.”
COPEC’s statement comes on the back of the recent increase in fuel prices on Friday which according to them, is due to the depreciation of the cedi.
Average pump prices that previously was at GHS 5.360/ litre for both petrol and diesel have seen an increase of about 5 pesewas to new prices of GHS 5.410/ litre or GHS 24.345/ gallon for both petrol and diesel.
According to COPEC, “the depreciation of the cedi if left unchecked will certainly see prices going up again and even higher in the second window of this month”.
Aside appealing to the government to check the fuel taxes, they have also tasked the Monetary Policy Committee to “work very hard to control the fast depreciating currency in order to avoid any needless fuel price increases at a time when most petroleum consumers are already complaining of very harsh fuel prices across pumps within the country”.
Read the full statement below:
Fuel prices across most of the major Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have seen an increase by almost 1% since 7 pm on Friday, 6/12/19.
Average pump prices that hitherto was at 5.360/ litre for both petrol and diesel have seen an increase of 5 pesewas to current new prices of 5.410/ litre or 24.345/ gallon for both petrol and diesel.
The recent fast depreciation of the cedi from 5.53 to around 5.710 forward rates is largely responsible for this increase in prices though there have also been some marginal increases in FOB prices as freight premiums have shot up a bit due to the IMO Cap 2020 programme.
The depreciation of the cedi if left unchecked will certainly see prices going up again and even higher in the second window of this month.
Whiles acknowledging some recent efforts by the Bank of Ghana to auction dollars with the aim to stabilizing the forex rates, the recent trend of depreciation seem to point to little gains in that regard as fuel imports continue to operate with forward forecasts as far as forex rates are concerned.
There simply is no guarantee per the current auction module to any of the fuel importers, as the net effect of the cedi’s depreciation continues to be directly impacting on the trading numbers that eventually reflects in pump prices.
It is our expectation that the Monetary Policy Committee will work very hard to control the fast depreciating currency in order to avoid any needless fuel price increases at a time when most petroleum consumers are already complaining of very harsh fuel prices across pumps within the country.
We further call on the Government to review some of the nuisance and needless fuel taxes as we currently have in the price build-up in the country since the 2020 budget has set out in clear terms to focus on clamping down on fuel smuggling which is known to cost the country over 1.6 billion in taxes evaded annually.
The post Check the spate of the recent fuel price increases – COPEC to gov’t appeared first on Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana, Current Affairs, Business News , Headlines, Ghana Sports, Entertainment, Politics, Articles, Opinions, Viral Content.
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