The Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Energy intensified pressure on Ghana’s government to eliminate petroleum levies, calling the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company margin an unjustified burden that functions as hidden taxation on consumers.
CEMSE’s latest analysis reveals the BOST margin quadrupled from 3 pesewas per litre in 2020 to 12 pesewas as of August 2025, generating over 424 million cedis annually for the state-owned company despite questionable expenditure patterns and completed commercial viability.
The environmental advocacy group documented how BOST’s levy revenue increased from 211 million cedis in 2020 to more than 424 million cedis in 2023, while critics question the effective utilization of these substantial funds for their intended infrastructure purposes.
CEMSE flagged concerning spending trends showing training, seminar, and conference expenditures ballooning from 3 million cedis in 2020 to 20 million cedis in 2023. Meanwhile, the high-profile Afram Plains pipeline project remains incomplete with some imported pipes reportedly declared unsuitable for use.
The organization emphasized BOST’s transformation into a profitable commercial entity earning billions from terminal and storage operations, raising fundamental questions about continued levy collection. This profitability eliminates the original justification for consumer-funded infrastructure support through mandatory charges.
CEMSE questioned the policy logic behind BOST’s preferential treatment compared to similar state enterprises. “If other limited liability companies like the Tema Oil Refinery or the Electricity Company of Ghana don’t receive free levies, why should BOST?” the center’s analysis demanded.
The levy directly impacts fuel pricing, contributing to transportation cost increases, inflationary pressures, and elevated household expenses across Ghana’s economy. Private petroleum industry operators control approximately 80% of storage and transport capacity while competing against BOST’s levy-subsidized operations.
Ghana’s petroleum sector operates under deregulated market principles where private companies provide storage and distribution services without government subsidies. BOST’s continued levy collection creates market distortions that disadvantage competing private enterprises operating without similar financial support.
The advocacy group stressed that the levy no longer functions as intended market stabilization mechanism but instead provides BOST unfair competitive advantages. “In a deregulated market where private players already control 80 percent of storage and transport, the BOST margin is redundant,” CEMSE’s assessment concluded.
Current petroleum pricing includes multiple government levies affecting consumer costs. The Ghana Revenue Authority implemented additional fuel levies in July 2025, including a 1 cedi per litre Energy Sector Shortfall and Debt Repayment Levy on refined petroleum products.
CEMSE’s intervention coincides with broader civil society concerns about petroleum sector taxation and regulatory effectiveness. Other organizations have raised similar questions about levy proliferation without corresponding service delivery improvements or infrastructure development progress.
Previous government commitments to petroleum tax relief included discussions about removing various levies, though implementation has faced delays. These commitments covered the BOST margin levy, sanitation and petroleum levy, price stabilization levy, special petroleum tax, and energy debt recovery levy.
The Centre advocates immediate BOST margin elimination to reduce economic pressure on consumers and ensure fair competition within Ghana’s petroleum downstream sector. Such action would align with deregulated market principles while removing unjustified consumer burdens.
BOST’s commercial success without exclusive reliance on levy funding demonstrates the company’s operational viability. This performance validates arguments that continued levy collection exceeds infrastructure maintenance requirements and constitutes inappropriate consumer taxation.
Ghana’s petroleum consumers face multiple levy burdens beyond the BOST margin, including various government charges that collectively increase fuel costs. CEMSE’s campaign represents broader efforts to rationalize petroleum taxation while maintaining necessary infrastructure funding through appropriate commercial mechanisms.
The organization’s analysis supports wider economic policy discussions about state enterprise financing and market competition fairness. Resolution requires balancing infrastructure maintenance needs against consumer protection and private sector competitiveness considerations.
