The inability of government to adjust the prices of petroleum to that of the world market has led to an accumulation of financial losses of about 50bn cedis a month to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) since the beginning of this year.

This is in addition to the stock of TORs debt of 2.5 trillion that was accumulated last year. The Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo Marfo said this at the 12th National Annual Delegates Conference of the Senior Staff Association of the Custom, Excise and Preventive Service (SSACEPS) at Abokobi near Accra.

He explained that there was about 18 per cent increase in the volume of petroleum consumption above the projected quantity without a commensurate adjustment of prices to support it.

This according to him led to a sharp fall in revenue from petroleum taxes below expectations. The sector Minister said however that, the government was currently in discussions with TOR and Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) in respect to the treatment of TOR’s debt in the books of GCB.

Meanwhile he said both direct and indirect taxes broadly on target, the over performance in total revenue was largely attributable to higher that expected receipts from international trade taxes.

“While import duties over-performed by 18.4 per cent, import Value Added Tax (VAT) was11.3 per cent above target.” he said. Osafo-Maafo said the government was on track of achieving its target of raising 386bn cedis from divestiture proceeds this year.

He said with the sale of shares in the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) on the Ghana Stock Exchange, “it is anticipated that we would be on track.” I n addition to the proceeds expected from the divestiture of CPC, he said arrangements for the divestiture of 22 other companies were far advanced.

Osafo-Maafo said that in spite of measures by government to resuscitate the cocoa industry, the activities of cocoa smugglers were thwarting its efforts. He said that even though CEPS officials were mandated to patrol the country’s borders and check the activities of smugglers.

Osafo-Maafo urged the staff of CEPS to sit up and examine their tax regimes and find out ways to improve upon them to make the country’s internal revenue general more efficient to derive the maximum taxes to ensure accelerated growth of the economy.

The new Commissioner of CEPS, Brigadier Richardson Baiden, said that as the Commissioner of the service, he was determined to ensure that there would be a positive service culture instituted in CEPS.