The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Ministry of Finance to suspend the implementation of Section 136 of the Customs Act, 2026 (Act 1179), warning that the new tax collection framework could increase costs, create supply risks, and ultimately push pump prices higher for Ghanaian consumers.
The Chamber said it has placed its members on alert and will convene an emergency general meeting if the Ministry fails to announce the suspension within the stipulated period. That meeting, COMAC warned, will determine its next steps through what it describes as legitimate administrative, regulatory, and legal channels.
“We have no interest in disruption, given the essential service our members provide to households and businesses,” the Chamber stated. “The industry, however, is 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.”
What Section 136 Changes
Section 136 represents one of the most significant changes to downstream petroleum taxation in recent years. The provision shifts the responsibility for accounting for downstream petroleum taxes from Oil and LPG Marketing Companies (OMCs/LPGMCs) to Bulk Import, Distribution and Export Companies (BIDECs), with taxes to be accounted for at the point of sale. The Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) may defer payment for up to 21 days against a bank guarantee.
Under the existing framework, BIDECs pay import duties and port charges at importation, while OMCs and LPGMCs account for taxes and levies at the ex-pump stage. COMAC argues that Section 136 severs this alignment between tax liability and cash flow, compelling BIDECs to pre-finance taxes before receiving payment from customers — a situation it says will force tighter credit conditions, higher security demands, and ultimately higher pump prices.
COMAC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Riverson Oppong, who signed the October 1 press release, described Section 136 as “a transfer of risk, not reform.” The Chamber’s 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.
The Supply Chain Risk
COMAC has raised particularly sharp concerns about what it describes as a potential “single point of failure” in Ghana’s petroleum supply chain. Under the current system, the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS) can automatically deactivate a defaulting OMC without necessarily disrupting the wider market. However, because a single BIDEC may supply several OMCs, LPGMCs, and hundreds of retail outlets, action against one BIDEC could have far-reaching consequences across the entire downstream sector.
Dr. Oppong illustrated the disparity in scale: “If an OMC is lifting, say, five million litres, a BDC is dealing with 50 million litres. So if a BDC is blocked or locked on ICUMS, that means a huge quantum of supply is being locked.”
The Chamber warned that the GRA could consequently face an impossible choice: enforce the law and trigger a national supply shock, or forbear and allow arrears to balloon. “Risk becomes concentrated, not reduced,” COMAC stated.
Slower, Not Faster, Revenue Collection
Contrary to the government’s stated rationale that dealing with fewer entities would improve tax administration, COMAC argues that Section 136 could actually slow revenue collection. The Chamber noted that BIDECs indicated at a meeting with the Customs Division of the GRA on September 18, 2026, that they would require a minimum of 45 days to settle their tax obligations, compared with the current 21-day arrangement for OMCs and LPGMCs, many of whom operate on a cash-and-carry basis.
“The OMCs today, apart from those who are on cash and carry, pay 21 days after lifting. The BDCs say they can pay only after 45 days. So which of them gives the government faster revenue?” Dr. Oppong asked.
COMAC also challenged the government’s argument that fewer BIDECs would simplify administration, noting that there are currently about 56 BDCs with no statutory limit on their numbers. “Today, 56 BDCs exist, and there’s no statutory cap, just as there’s no cap on OMCs. So every OMC can now go and look for a BDC licence. That is not a remedy for what is wrong or what needs to be fixed,” Dr. Oppong said.
Enforcement, Not Design
At the heart of COMAC’s objection is the argument that the problem is not the point at which taxes are collected, but the enforcement of existing controls. The Chamber claims that ICUMS controls — including credit limits and automated restrictions — have not been consistently enforced, with system overrides allowing operators to exceed approved limits and continue lifting petroleum products after exceeding approved limits.
“If you don’t pay after 21 days, ICUMS wouldn’t allow you to lift again. So what is the problem? Let’s fix the problem instead of just shifting it,” Dr. Oppong said.
COMAC also raised concerns about apparent inconsistencies between Section 126(6) and Section 136 regarding the timing of tax obligations on petroleum consignments. Section 126(6) fixes the tax point at 21 days after the close of a lifting window, while Section 136 fixes it at the time of sale with a separate 21-day deferral — two conflicting triggers for the same consignment.
Lack of Consultation and Unanswered Questions
The Chamber says the industry was not adequately consulted before the provision was enacted and that no published impact assessment or evidence-based modelling has been provided on its potential effect on working capital, credit, fuel supply security, and pump prices. COMAC noted that it was not invited to comment before passage despite ongoing engagement with the GRA, the National Petroleum Authority, and the Ministries of Finance and Energy & Green Transition. A post-passage implementation meeting, COMAC said, amounts to notification rather than consultation.
COMAC is also demanding transparency over the use of credit-limit overrides within ICUMS and an independent review of non-bonded status granted to some operators. The Chamber says it is particularly seeking a formal response to its analysis of industry data, which identified an estimated 819,248,990 litres of unaccounted-for petroleum products in 2025, with an associated revenue implication of approximately GH¢2.5 billion. That analysis was submitted to the GRA four months ago, according to COMAC, and no substantive response has been received.
The Chamber is also seeking information on ten diesel tankers it says were impounded in October 2025, with basic ownership and designation details still outstanding.
What COMAC Wants
COMAC is calling for the immediate and indefinite public suspension of Section 136 by the Minister of Finance. It wants the existing framework retained, with BIDECs continuing to pay import duties and port charges at importation while OMCs and LPGMCs account for taxes and levies ex-pump. The Chamber is also demanding full written disclosure of how operators were allowed to lift beyond approved credit limits and payment deadlines, along with corrective measures, and an independent review of all material system overrides and non-bonded status grants.
Background: A Sector Under Pressure
The dispute over Section 136 comes at a time of heightened stress in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector. The Customs Act, 2026 (Act 1179) was enacted as part of a broader legislative push to tighten revenue rules, consolidating the country’s various customs provisions into a single piece of legislation. Alongside it, the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Act, 2026 raised the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy on fuel oil from GH¢0.24 per litre to GH¢1.93 per litre, bringing it in line with the rate applied to diesel and marine gas oil, in an effort to curb widespread tax evasion through misclassification.
Ghana’s downstream sector has also faced significant external pressures. The country imports about 70 per cent of its refined fuel and remains vulnerable to global market volatility and geopolitical tensions. Petroleum imports surged by nearly 37 per cent in 2026, while crude oil production has declined for six consecutive years, falling from 71.44 million barrels in 2019 to 37.3 million barrels in 2025. Regulatory margins and taxes account for roughly 39 per cent of the ex-pump price of petrol, underscoring the sensitivity of pump prices to any change in the cost structure.
COMAC has consistently advocated for sustained investment and innovation to strengthen the sector’s resilience, warning that the country’s dependence on imports leaves it exposed to external shocks. The Chamber has also called for full deregulation of fuel prices and the indefinite suspension of provisions it views as disruptive to supply security.
What Happens Next
The 14-day ultimatum expires on or around October 15, 2026. If the Ministry of Finance does not announce the suspension by then, COMAC will convene an emergency general meeting to determine its next steps. The Chamber has emphasised that it has no interest in disruption but maintains that the industry cannot operate with confidence under a framework that has not been tested, explained, or justified.
For now, the standoff between Ghana’s oil marketers and the government over the tax collection point has added a new layer of uncertainty to a sector already navigating volatile global markets and domestic fiscal pressures. How the Ministry of Finance responds in the coming days will determine whether the dispute escalates into a broader confrontation — or whether a negotiated solution can be found before the deadline passes.
