COMAC issues 14-Day ultimatum to GRA and Finance Ministry to suspend Section 136 of Customs Act

The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) has called for the immediate and indefinite suspension of Section 136 of the Customs Act, 2026 (Act 1179), describing the provision as the most significant change to downstream petroleum taxation in recent years and one enacted without industry consultation, supporting evidence or a published impact assessment.

COMAC has, therefore, called for immediate and indefinite public suspension of Section 136 by the Minister of Finance, retention of the existing framework, with BIDECs paying import duties and port charges at importation while OMCs/LPGMCs continue accounting for taxes and levies ex-pump and full written disclosure of how operators were allowed to lift beyond approved credit limits and payment deadlines, plus corrective measures.

Riverson Oppong, that the section seeks to shift the tax collection point rather than address what it views as the core problem, which is weak enforcement of existing controls.