Emissions Levy Act, 2023 (Act 1112) comes into effect today, Thursday, February 1, 2024, according to a statement released by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
According to GRA, the Emissions Levy Act will tax internal combustion engine vehicles’ carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
The GRA underscored that the action is consistent with the government’s resolve to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
By encouraging the use of green energy and eco-friendly technology, the Emissions Levy Act is intended to improve environmental management and reduce air and water pollution.
According to the GRA, anybody required to pay the emissions Levy must finish registration and use the Ghana.gov platform only to make levy payments.
“Under section 4(4) of Act 1112, a person required to issue a road certificate (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and other testing centres) shall demand evidence of payment of the levy before issuing a Road Use Certificate.”
Furthermore, as stated in Act 1112, the GRA urged all car owners to comply with the mandate and meet their responsibility by paying the Emissions Levy.
Meanwhile, Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, Daryl Bosu, has described the new Emission Levy Act as fraud against Ghanaians.
He said the imposition of the Emissions Levy Act, 2023 (Act 1112) on Ghanaians is unjust because Ghana, as a developing country, has the lowest emission levels.
The environmentalist added that on the global front, taxes and emissions levies are only applied to developed countries since emissions peak in such countries.
According to him, the government is perpetuating an injustice with the emission levy when it has recognised on international platforms like COP28 that Ghana is amongst the countries with the least contribution to climate change.
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“Our government has been on these international platforms talking about just climate transition and the need to ensure that even if we have to really pay for something, you need to recognize that some countries are least developed and so should not be responsible.
“That has been our major problem with this levy. The fact that it is not recognising that we in Ghana are least responsible for the emission…we talk about climate just transition, and all that when we go out there but when we come home, we actually perpetuate an injustice where we actually tax our people for something that we are not responsible for and this is where we think that the law is a fraud,” he told Alfred Ocansey on Ghana Tonight yesterday, [January 31].