By Amoako Kwame
Government has rejected Accra Brewery PLC’s warning that changes to Ghana’s beer excise duty regime could put as many as 2,000 jobs at risk, insisting that the company has not provided sufficient evidence to support the claim.
The Ministry of Finance has also defended the revised tax regime, arguing that the existing concession has become less effective as an incentive and has cost the state approximately GH¢1.75 billion in foregone revenue over the past three years.
The dispute centres on changes to the excise duty structure for beer and stout, particularly the concessionary rates granted to locally produced alcoholic beverages based on the proportion of locally sourced raw materials used in production.
Accra Brewery Limited (ABL), one of Ghana’s major beer producers, has raised concerns that the revised rates could significantly increase its tax liability, weaken the competitiveness of locally produced beer and discourage future investment.
The company estimates that the changes could have a US$7.5 million impact on its budget and has called for the existing sliding-scale excise duty rates to be maintained for the 2026 and 2027 financial years.
ABL has also warned that the higher tax burden could undermine local manufacturing and create an unintended competitive advantage for imported beer, potentially threatening employment and investment in the sector.
Government challenges job-loss claim
In a detailed rejoinder issued on Monday, August 31, 2026, the Ministry of Finance said the debate should not be framed around whether the brewing industry contributes to Ghana’s economy.
Rather, it said the key question is whether the tax concession is still achieving the objective for which it was introduced.
The ministry said data from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) show that approximately 85 per cent of qualifying production by ABL and other domestic manufacturers has already been assessed in the highest concessionary band.
Under the previous regime, beer producers whose products contained more than 70 per cent locally sourced raw materials paid an excise duty rate of 10 per cent.
The government argues that the concentration of production in this top band has weakened the incentive effect of the sliding-scale system.
“A graduated incentive works by creating a marginal reward for movement between bands,” the ministry said.
“Where 85% of output has already reached the highest band, there is no further band to move to and no marginal inducement left to offer.”
According to the ministry, this means producers have largely exhausted the incentive available under the previous structure, making a review necessary.
What has changed?
The revised Excise Act maintains the three-band structure but increases the rates applicable to beer and stout.
For products containing more than 70 per cent local raw materials, the excise duty rate has been increased from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
For products containing between 50 per cent and 70 per cent local raw materials, the rate has increased from 32.5 per cent to 40 per cent.
The standard excise duty rate of 47.5 per cent remains unchanged.
Government therefore argues that the reform does not abolish the concession but narrows the gap between the preferential rates and the standard rate.
The ministry pointed out that locally produced beer in the highest band will still enjoy a 22.5 percentage-point tax advantage over imported beer, which remains subject to the 47.5 per cent standard rate.
It consequently disputes the suggestion that the new regime places locally produced beer at a disadvantage relative to imports.
What is the excise duty dispute about?
At the heart of the disagreement is the purpose and effectiveness of the concessionary excise-duty system.
Excise duty is a tax imposed on specific goods, including alcoholic beverages, rather than on income or profits. In Ghana’s beer industry, the tax has historically been structured partly as an incentive for manufacturers to increase their use of locally sourced raw materials.
The sliding-scale approach means producers using a higher proportion of local inputs qualify for a lower excise-duty rate. The policy is intended to encourage local sourcing, support domestic agriculture and manufacturing, create jobs and reduce dependence on imported inputs.
ABL’s position is that the concession remains important to the competitiveness of local beer manufacturing. It argues that raising the rate for the highest local-content category from 10 per cent to 25 per cent will increase its production costs and tax burden, with potential consequences for investment, prices and employment.
Government, however, maintains that the incentive has lost part of its effectiveness because the overwhelming majority of qualifying production is already in the highest band.
In effect, the disagreement is over whether the existing 10 per cent rate should continue to be treated as a necessary incentive for local production or whether the concentration of manufacturers in that band means the concession has become too generous and should be narrowed.
Government questions 2,000-job projection
The Ministry of Finance has also challenged ABL’s estimate that as many as 2,000 jobs could be at risk.
It said the company has not provided the methodology, base year, price elasticity assumptions or definition used to arrive at the figure.
“The publication asserts the conclusion and supplies none of the intermediate steps,” the ministry said.
Government also questioned ABL’s reliance on an Oxford Economics estimate that Ghana’s beer sector supported approximately 52,000 jobs in 2023.
According to the ministry, that figure represents the broader economic footprint of the beer industry and should not be interpreted as the number of jobs that depend specifically on the excise-duty concession.
The government said the relevant assessment should instead compare employment under the revised excise rates with employment under the previous 10 per cent concession.
It argued that estimating the potential employment impact requires isolating the effect of the tax change rather than considering what would happen to jobs if the beer industry itself did not exist.
Government demands details on US$7.5m impact
The Ministry has similarly questioned ABL’s estimate that the revised regime could have a US$7.5 million impact on its budget.
It said the brewery has not disclosed the underlying production volumes, ex-factory prices, product mix, applicable tax bands, exchange-rate assumptions or whether the projected increase in duty would be absorbed by the company or passed on to consumers through higher prices.
Government has therefore asked ABL to provide the calculation in Ghana cedis and reconcile the figure with the company’s audited financial statements.
The demand for greater detail reflects the ministry’s position that claims about the economic impact of the tax reform should be supported by verifiable financial and production data.
Revenue implications
Beyond the impact on individual manufacturers, government is also defending the reform on fiscal grounds.
The Ministry of Finance says the existing concession resulted in approximately GH¢1.75 billion in foregone government revenue over the past three years.
Its argument is that while the concession was introduced to encourage local sourcing and support domestic production, the government must periodically assess whether the revenue sacrificed through the tax preference continues to generate sufficient economic benefits.
The revised structure therefore seeks to preserve an incentive for manufacturers that use local raw materials while reducing the size of the tax advantage.
A wider industry concern
For ABL, however, the issue extends beyond the immediate tax bill.
The brewery has warned that a higher excise burden could affect the economics of local beer production, potentially influencing prices, investment decisions and employment.
The company is particularly concerned that locally manufactured beer could become less competitive if domestic producers face higher tax costs while imported products remain subject to the standard 47.5 per cent rate.
Government disagrees with that assessment, pointing to the continued preferential rate for beer with more than 70 per cent local raw material content.
The disagreement therefore reflects a broader policy tension between protecting domestic industry through tax incentives and generating revenue through a broader tax base.
While ABL wants the existing rates maintained for FY2026 and FY2027 to provide certainty for investment and operations, government believes the concession must be recalibrated because the original sliding-scale incentive is no longer providing sufficient additional motivation for producers already operating at the highest local-content threshold.
The outcome of the dispute could have implications not only for ABL and other breweries but also for government revenue, local raw-material sourcing, consumer prices, investment and employment across the wider beverage value chain.
