The government issues ultimatum on the implementation of the new Ghana Tax Stamp as local manufacturers, including Coca Cola, Pepsi and Bel-Aqua, continue to oppose the new policy citing costs and difficulty in meeting necessary requirements.

After the deadline for the implementation of the new Ghana tax stamp, manufacturers keep pushing against the new policy. The tax, which entered into force the 1st March, met harsh opposition from businesses who say they are not ready for its implementation and that the policy means an unsustainable burden.

The problems with the implementation of the new Tax Stamp in Ghana had been raised by businesses since the policy was first approved by the government. Manufacturers like Coca Cola, Bel Aqua or Pepsi had warned about the lack of conditions for the stamps to be affixed in products, namely regarding the costs of purchasing the necessary equipment to enact the policy. Representatives of Bel Aqua have said that, in order to make up for the $800,000 investment the tax stamp will mean, the company is considering the shutdown of its plants in the Tema Industrial Area. Other companies operating in Ghana, like Guinness Ghana Breweries or Pepsi Ghana Limited are also not still not ready to comply with the new tax.

The Food and Beverage Manufacturers’ Association of Ghana (FBMAG) warned the government about the possibility of product shortages and price increases ahead of the new tax. Two companies, Aqua Fill and Multipac, have already shut operations and now the FBMAG says there are more to come. The association estimates that the investment required for businesses to comply with the new law can range between $150,000 and over a million dollars.

Possible price increases are mainly related to the measures manufacturers have to take when they do not have enough funds to buy the necessary affixing machines. In that case, products need to be transported to designated affixing centre in Tema before being distributed to stores. The centre can only at the moment accommodate a 20 foot container and is working for about 6 hours a day which has raised concerns about the ability to process the volume of products.

The new policy also pitted some foreign manufacturers against local producers who have defended a trial period for the tax wherein only imported products would be subject to the tax.

The new Ghana tax stamp, which was approved by the government in 2013, has made it mandatory for some imported and local products to have a stamp supplied by the Ghana Revenue Authority before they are delivered from the factory, cleared from any port of entry or for sale at any commercial level in the country.