Members of Parliament (MPs) have backed the government’s request for waiver of taxes amounting to the Ghana Cedi equivalent of US$2,068,268.00 on machinery, equipment and raw materials to be procured by three companies under the One District One Factory (1D1F) programme.
The taxes are Import Duty, Import NHIL, Import GET Fund Levy, Import VAT, and EXIM Levy and have been waived for Accum Energy Ghana Limited, Vester Oil Mills Limited and Add Premium Diaper Core Company Limited.
Accum Energy Ghana Limited will enjoy a US$1,208,404.00 tax waiver, while the Vester Oil Mills Limited will enjoy US$814,874.00 free tax and US$44.990.00 tax waiver for Add Premium Diaper Core Company Limited.
The request was presented to the House on July 15, 2020, by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen on behalf of the Minister of Finance.
Background
The Deputy Minister said Accum Energy Ghana Limited is registered as a private limited liability company is located at Klagon Motorway Industrial Area, Tema.
According to him, the parent company is located in Ukraine and it produces lead and lead alloys, which are the main raw materials for the production of batteries.
He explained that the parent company produces over 300,000 batteries per annum for the local market and occupy about 15percent of that market.
“In 2018, the company made a strategic decision to expand into the international market and to particularly access the African market. They have chosen to set up and produce batteries for cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and tractors in the country.”
They intend to access the ECOWAS market from Ghana when they begin production under the One District One Factory programme, and in order to achieve its objectives, the company applied for a 1D1F status in order to benefit from the tax incentives and waivers.
Vester Oil Mills Limited
Mr Adu Boahen said the Vester Oil Mills Limited, which registered in 2002 as an oil extraction company, is located at Abuontem in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region.
It processes mainly soya beans and peanut/groundnuts presently with mechanical expellers into good quality meals for livestock and poultry and refined soya oil for market consumption, he added.
According to him, the company has a policy to grow organically and as such has been concentrating on the local Ghanaian market since commissioning.
Add Premium Diaper Company Limited
The Deputy Minister stated that Add Premium Diaper Company Limited, which was established in 2015, is a manufacturing company located at Ada-Kasseh in the Ada District of the Greater Accra Region.
He said the company intended to produce high quality and environmentally friendly disposable baby diapers and sanitary pads with state-of-the-art equipment and technology for both the domestic market and other West Africa Regional Markets.
It also applied and was granted a 1D1F status which enables it to benefit from the tax incentives approved for the 1D1F programme.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House