NPA plans to amend the law on smugglers

Company News from Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Source: Ghananewsagency.org

2019-04-23

Mr. Hbadan Tampuli, NPA General Manager, said his team would request the amendment of the law creating the Authority to allow it to apply harsher penalties against people victims of an oil theft.

The NPA, in February this year, confiscated smuggled petroleum products in Ghana, estimated to be about 1 million GHC, according to a statement from the Authority, which was copied by the government. Ghana News Agency, Accra.

The regulator announced the confiscation of a total of 28 rubber dinghies, six canoes, four mobile pumps and five outboard motors carrying 709,250 liters of illegally smuggled petroleum products, with a tax and taxes in the amount of 150,186 GHC.

The arrest, carried out in collaboration with the security agencies, is part of the NPA's ongoing plans to deal with the fraudsters of the sector.

Speaking in London at the OIL and FUEL Supply Chain Security Conference on the prevention of fuel-related fraud, Mr Tampuli said that after more than ten years of setting it up, he It was entirely appropriate for the law to be revised to allow the NPA to apply heavy penalties to those caught engaging in fuel smuggling activities.

At the same time, Tampuli said his team would continue to deploy technologies to help block smuggling channels, while other channels would be explored to combat fuel theft.

"We intend to use more technologies, such as the use of flow meters in depots and fuel receiving facilities," he said. "We insist that if they do not get flow meters in these facilities, we will provide them and make sure they work."

The conference brought together experts from the oil sector and security agencies from Africa, Europe, North and South America to find ways to work together to deal with smuggling and cross-border oil spills .

Mr Tampuli said Ghana had benefited from an effective collaboration with neighboring countries such as Nigeria, but that there was still a lot of work to be done to get the cabal fuel's operations handled.

"Ghana has taken a stand to ruthlessly attack this problem, which has implications for tax revenues. We are convinced that the measures deployed and others in the short term will help to minimize or even eliminate the threat. "

Mr. Tampuli said the ongoing partnership with security agencies involved continuing patrols on the east and west coasts to facilitate the arrest of smugglers.

"GRA Customs monitors border movements and facilitates the confiscation of badets and the disposal of products."

He also said that the government had shown enough political will to fight the activities of the oil smuggling gangs and warned that everything would be done to protect businesses from those who respect the rules.