As of last Saturday, the Grenada Government removed all taxes on petrol.
This means retailers and buyers will not be paying any taxes on petrol which is defined by law as gasoline and diesel, until the policy is reviewed in December 2022.
REPORT:
According to a Petrol Tax Order which was published in the Gazette and signed by the Minister for Finance, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, the petrol tax rate for importers is zero dollars and zero cents.
The Minister made the Order as guided by Section 4 of the Petrol Tax Act, which provides the authority to adjust the petrol tax rate without seeking Parliamentary approval.
Under the petrol tax legislation, only importers are required to pay the petrol tax.
The retailers buy at the wholesale price inclusive of petrol tax, add their margin and sell to buyers.
“With the reduction in the Petrol Tax to $0.00 the government will not collect any petrol tax until this is amended.
According to one Ministry of finance official, “Under the caption, the statutory tax rate did not change, but the Government was applying fewer taxes to maintain the cap at $15.”
The Government is expected to lose millions in petrol tax revenue until there’s an amendment to the petrol tax rate.
In December 2021 the then New National Party (NNP) administration announced the EC$15 cap on fuel because of escalating prices on the international market.
However, in recent months the price of fuel began dropping which in turn is resulting in lower prices on the local market.
Prime Minister Mitchell announced during a news conference on 13 September 2022, that if the price of fuel was to increase beyond EC$17 after the removal of the cap on 18 September, then the Government would set a new cap of EC$17.
