A Court of Appeal has ordered the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to remove the illegal margins termed as "ex-refinery differential" from fuel prices in Ghana and pay the money accumulated from the illegal charges into the Consolidated Fund.
The accrued money is estimated to be in the region of GhC800 million.
This is the third time the NPA is being ordered by the Courts to stop the illegal charges and comply with the earlier ruling of the High Court that fuel prices in Ghana be reduced by the illegal margins.
The Court of Appeal presided over by Justice Henrietta Abban, sitting with Justice Kusi-Appiah and Justice Ayebi refused the application for stay of execution brought by the NPA seeking to stay execution of a High Court’s judgment in November 2011 that illegal price margins disguised as “ex-refinery differential” should be knocked off fuel prices.
The High Court had further ordered the NPA to publish the total amount collected from the illegal imposition and pay it into the Consolidated Fund.
Immediately after the High Court’s decision in November 2011, the NPA applied to the same Court for stay of execution of the judgment. By that application, the NPA was seeking the permission of the Court to continue charging the illegal margins while it appealed against the
judgment.
On January, 24 2012, the High Court refused to grant the stay of execution and asked the NPA to go and obey before complain.
But in February 2012, the NPA proceeded to the Court of Appeal for the same stay of execution. The plaintiffs, Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, the NPP parliamentary candidate for Obuasi, Mr Abdul Ganiyu of Tamale and Development Data filed a counter affidavit praying the Court of Appeal to compel the NPA to obey the court order before pursuing its appeal.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal backed the High Court ruling and refused NPA’s application for stay of execution. A cost of GH¢500 was awarded the plaintiffs. Thus, so far, five different judges have ordered the NPA to reduce fuel prices by the illegal margins and
pay the accumulated amount into the Consolidated Fund.
Source: Citifmonline.com
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