Parliament repeals COVID-19 Recovery Act

Parliament has passed the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy (Repeal) Bill, 2025.

The bill, erstwhile assented to by the President, volition repeal the COVID-19 Recovery Act, 2021 (Act 1069), which imposed a 1 per cent levy connected the proviso of goods and services made successful the country, arsenic good arsenic imports.

The levy was aimed astatine raising gross to enactment COVID-19 expenditures and to supply for related matters.

It was introduced arsenic portion of fiscal measures to mobilise further gross to enactment the country’s effect to the COVID-19 pandemic and to facilitate economical betterment successful the aftermath of the planetary wellness crisis.

In bid to execute that, Act 1068 imposed a 1 per cent levy connected the proviso of goods and services made successful the country, different than exempt goods oregon services, and connected the import of goods and services, different than exempt imports.

The levy was not allowable arsenic an input taxation deduction, efficaciously and adversely expanding the taxation load connected businesses and households.

The repeal, which had the overwhelming enactment of some sides of the House, was to fulfil a committedness President Mahama made to Ghanaians.

In the 2026 Budget Statement, the authorities announced its committedness to streamline the indirect taxation authorities and to trim the wide outgo of doing concern arsenic portion of broader efforts to stimulate growth, enactment backstage sector-led betterment and amended compliance successful the Value Added Tax (VAT) system.

One of specified reforms was to repeal Act 1068.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, explained that the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Act, 2021, had outlived its archetypal purpose.

The repeal was, therefore, a portion of the broad VAT betterment docket aimed astatine creating a much transparent, equitable and growth-friendly depletion taxation system, helium said.

He, therefore, called connected Parliament to o.k. the Bill and repeal Act 1068.

Fiscal impact

Moving the question for the House to follow the Finance Committee’s study and o.k. the measure past Tuesday, the Chairman of the committee, Isaac Adongo, said the repeal of the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Act, 2021 (Act 1068) would pb to a gross nonaccomplishment of GH¢3 billion.

He, however, said the Finance Minister had assured the committee that, with the existent taxation reforms ongoing, it was expected that the measures would effect successful an summation successful concern activities successful the state and thereby pb to an summation successful taxation revenue. 

Inconsistent government

Contributing to the question for the House to repeal the bill, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accused the authorities of inconsistent actions.

He said the measure sought to make the content that the existent authorities was a listening authorities and wanted to lessen the taxation load connected the mean Ghanaian.

The reality, helium said, was that conscionable past week, the authorities came to the House with 20 per cent taxation exemptions that led to $10.4 cardinal granted to a overseas company.

He said the authorities had created the content that the erstwhile authorities had a definite agreement, and “so they are lone pursuing through”.

“But you said you are a reset government, and truthful if, indeed, determination was thing bad, cancel it,” helium said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said this twelvemonth alone, the mean Ghanaian who utilized energy had been burdened with a full of 18.4 per cent upward accommodation of energy tariffs alone.

“Mr Speaker, successful 2018, the Akufo-Addo government, done the PURC (Public Utilities Regulatory Commission), announced a reduced tariff adjustment, ranging from 18 per cent for households and 30 per cent (for) firm (bodies).

“When you came into bureau this year, you person accrued energy tariffs up to 18.4 per cent, and if you attraction astir the mean Ghanaian, wherefore did you enforce the tariffs?” helium said.

“A authorities indispensable beryllium principled and consistent. You imposed 18 per cent tariff and you assistance $10.4 cardinal successful taxation exemption, forgetting that erstwhile you were successful opposition, you stood against taxation exemptions for Ghanaian businessmen who were coming into the state to put successful One-District-One-Factory,” helium said.

Spare parts dealers disappointed

Mr Afenyo-Markin added that if the authorities was minded to, indeed, relieve the mean Ghanaian of the mundane hazard, it should show that by instantly repealing the levy connected diesel and petrol.

“If you bash that, past we volition instrumentality you seriously, and they should instantly reverse their 18 per cent tariffs that person been imposed connected electricity, helium said.

The Minority Leader added that the authorities had promised automobile spare parts dealers that it would instrumentality distant taxes connected the importation of spare parts.  

“In your 2026 Budget, you said thing astir it, and the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers person been disappointed by you,” helium said.