Mahama signs law to scrap 1% COVID-19 Levy from January 2026

President John Dramani Mahama has signed the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Repeal Act, 2025, formally abolishing the one per cent charge that has, for years, been applied to goods, services and imports.

The presidential assent, given on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, clears the way for the levy to be fully removed from January 2026.

Parliament had approved the repeal last month as part of a broader policy drive to phase out so-called “nuisance taxes” and ease cost pressures on households and businesses.

The COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy itself was introduced in 2021, under the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Act, 2021 (Act 1068), signed into law on 31 March 2021. It formed part of the fiscal package put in place to support Ghana’s recovery from the pandemic.

At the time, government justified the measure as a way to:

shore up funding for health system restoration;

finance COVID-19-related expenditures; and

rebuild depleted fiscal buffers.

The levy was charged at 1% on the value of taxable goods and services supplied in Ghana, and on imports, except for items already exempt under the VAT regime.

With the repeal now in force and implementation set for early 2026, businesses and consumers are expected to see that extra one per cent charge removed from eligible transactions.