OMCs urged to honour tax obligations to remain in good standing

GRA embarks on aggressive revenue mobilisation drive

GRA closed down 7 OMCs in May 2021

All AOMC members must honor their tax, Agyeman Duah

The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (AOMC) has urged its members to honour their financial and tax obligations to government in order to remain in good standing.

The call comes after the Ghana Revenue Authority in May last year temporarily shut down the operations of some 7 Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the country for failing to pay their taxes.

Chief Executive Officer of the AOMC, Kwaku Agyeman Duah however described last year’s situation as unhealthy for the sector which plays a critical role in Ghana's petroleum downstream sector.

“The Ghana Revenue Authority has got a mandate to make sure everybody pays tax. But some of our members who are not paying their tax are basically the situation we find ourselves in. And so, it has become like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

“If you have not achieved your full margin, it would be difficult to pay the taxes you’ll be looking at. You say once I can pay the margin let me go and eat into the taxes and the levies then eventually you default,” Agyeman Duah is quoted by Citi Business News.

The AOMC boss further urged members to honour their tax obligations in due time and cautioned that the Association will not tolerate any member who fails to adhere to the principle.

“What we have as an association is that in principle and we have decided to sanitize the industry, we are not going to tolerate whatsoever somebody who is not paying their taxes. Well, this is a statutory thing and we need to behave as a very good corporate citizen.”

“That is one of our objectives this year. We’re not going to countenance that. You want to be a very good member of the association in good standing, then you must pay your dues, your taxes, your levies as well when they fall due. Failure to do that, you are out,” the AOMC CEO added.