Withdraw Cylinder Recovery Levy now – Association
LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana has called for the immediate withdrawal of the new Cylinder Recovery Levy introduced by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
The NPA on April 2 introduced the Cylinder Recovery Levy by charging 13.5 pesewas on each kilogramme of LPG.
NPA in a statement said the cylinder recovery levy or the cylinder recovery margin would support stakeholders in the supply chain.
However, in a statement signed by Malam Bukari Amadu, Chairman of the Association, called for the withdrawal of the levy as it would threaten the income of businesses and consumers.
According to the statement, the Association had earlier appealed to government to remove existing taxes and levies from LPG to make the product more affordable to the Ghanaian consumers, but that had not yielded any results.
“It will therefore be ironic and indeed highly unprincipled for us to support the introduction of the levy,” the statement said.
The plight of Ghanaians whose source of income is threatened due to the lock down of most businesses will be worsened if this levy is allowed to stay.
The Association said: “We know the NPA need money to effectively roll out the Cylinder Recovery Margin (CRM) policy but we are resolute in our conviction that our regulator must find more innovative means to raise the needed revenue.
Unfortunately, adding more levies to the already over taxed LPG consumer is not the way to go.”
According to the statement, the Association had consistently suggested that the five (5) pesewas already being charged as LPG Distribution Compensation Promotion Margin on the Price build up should be used to fund the acquisition of new cylinders.
It said the Association was ready to partner government to keep money in the pocket of consumers by reducing the price at the pump to reflect the low crude oil price at the International market in the difficult times.
The NPA has launched the pilot phase of the policy intended to change of gas distribution in a secured and safe manner at Kade and Obuasi in Eastern and Ashanti Region respectively.
Source: GNA