Parliament on Friday, 31 July 2026, passed the Energy Sector Levies (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to close a loophole that has allowed traders to evade fuel taxes and cost the state an estimated $25 million in just six months.
The amendment raises the Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy (ESSDRL) and the Road Fund Levy on fuel oil. Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson told the House the measure is not a new tax on ordinary Ghanaians and will not increase pump prices for motorists.
Diesel and fuel oil are chemically almost identical, yet they face sharply different tax rates. Diesel attracts about GH¢3.35 per litre, while fuel oil—intended to keep industrial costs down—is taxed at only GH¢0.24 per litre. Some operators have been buying diesel, relabelling it as fuel oil, and pocketing the difference.
Five-year data show Ghana normally consumes around five million litres of fuel oil a month. Between January and June this year the volume jumped to more than 20 million litres a month—a 493 per cent increase—pointing to large-scale abuse.
Dr Forson noted that a similar scheme once involved marine gas oil. The government closed that loophole by aligning its tax treatment with diesel; the fraud then shifted to fuel oil.
Under the new arrangement, industries will continue to receive the tax relief, but on an ex-post rather than ex-ante basis: they will pay the higher rate upfront and claim a refund.
The Revenue Administration Act will be amended to cut the refund period from 90 days to 14 days, and the Ghana Revenue Authority Commissioner-General will issue a practice note to operationalise the faster refunds.
Fuel oil is used by industry, not by motorists. The minister stressed that the amendment will not raise taxes on petroleum products sold at the pump. Without action, he warned, the state risks losing more than GH¢1 billion a year to the scam.
