Excise Duty Rates increased for unhealthy products

An additional revenue of 455 million Ghana Cedis is expected to be made from excise duties, following an amendment to the first schedule of the Excise Duty Act, 2014 (Act 878).

This is because there has been an introduction of the hybrid method of duty calculation on tobacco and other related products, viewed as generally unhealthy.

According to Nelson Bright Atsu, the Head of Compliance at the Excise Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority “if you talk to the health authorities they will tell you their pain. If you talk to other researchers, they are also complaining that something must be done. This area has been left out for long and the time is appropriate and even at the ECOWAS level that health taxes must be given immediate attention”.

Basically, what this means is that e-cigarettes, sugar-sweetened beverages, carbonated soft drinks, spirits, and wines will cost more when imported.

This revelation was made during the same engagement with the news editors.

The Head of Compliance at the Excise Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority said the development is in line with ECOWAS recommendations for the treatment of such products.

“The ECOWAS directive on the harmonization of the exercise duty of the Tobacco products directs that exercise duty on Tobacco product must include ad valorem and specific duty rate. The ad valorem rate is required to be 50% or more on the value while the specific tax rate is required to be a minimum equivalent of two cents per stick in the case of cigarettes, cigars, cigarillo, and the cedi equivalent of $20 per net kilo for all other tobacco products.”