Sachet, Bottled water producers want taxes scrapped

The Sachet and Bottled Water Producers Association has petitioned the finance minister to scrapped taxes imposed on their products.

According to the association, the existing financial regulation on their operations does not allow for the imposition of taxes.

A letter written by the Association to the finance ministry and sighted by Starr News said, the tax if allowed to stay, will push the price of sachet water beyond the pocket of the ordinary consumer.

Below are details of their letter to the finance ministry

Previously, sachet water was not subject to Vat because it was considered as an item consumed by the ordinary poor Ghanaian and that has not changed

1.The Value Added tax will push the price of sachet water beyond the pocket of the ordinary consumer. This corroborated by paragraph 5 of the Ministry of Finance letter which states as follows; “ we wish to state that this ministry shares the sentiments of the water producers association and understands that even though sachet water is a packaged product, charging VAT on it would make it a bit expensive and beyond the reach of the ordinary Ghanaian.”

2.The Ghana living standard survey suggest sachet water has low rate of detectable E.coli in comparison to pipe water. Furthermore, a recent observational study provided evidence that sachet water consumption reduces the risk of diarrhea in young children.