The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers Ghana (COPEC) and the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) have instructed their lawyers to ask the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to withdraw the cylinder investment margin (CIM) with immediate effect.
CIM took effect from Thursday, April 2.
According to COPEC and CPA, the move constitutes an imposition of tax on petroleum products – which to them is a clear violation of law.
A letter written on behalf of the two civil society groups by lawyer Martin Kpebu said the move should have sought parliamentary approval.
“As you are already aware, the CIM for all intents and purposes amounts to a tax, as such the NPA required the approval of Parliament in order to impose same,” the letter written directly to the Chief Executive Officer of NPA, Hassan Tampul,i said.
“We humbly wish to draw your attention in this regard to article 174(1) of the Constitution (1992) and the decision of Development Data & 2 Others v. National Petroleum Authority & Another.”
The letter said the groups are not against the imposition of taxes but they should be done “in a manner that is sensitive to the conditions of the Ghanaian citizenry”.
It is therefore urging the Authority to withdraw the “tax”, failure to do so leading to an action in a court of law.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana