LOCAL VEHICLE ASSEMBLERS MUST MEET LOCAL PRODUCTION THRESHOLD FOR VAT EXEMPTION

This will be a minimum local assembly requirement for vehicle manufacturers seeking to benefit from VAT exemptions under Ghana’s automotive policy. It is expected to be announced in the next budget, The President has said. THE President made the announcement on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, when he commissionedp Phase Three of the Zonda Tech Ghana Limited vehicle assembly plant. “I wish to inform you that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry are finalising their discussions on the incentives for semi-knockdown automotive assembly. We are going to introduce a percentage which you must achieve to be able to qualify for the VAT exemption,” he said President Mahama said an expansion of Zonda Tec’s assembly plant, which he said would nearly double the company’s direct workforce and generate about 1,000 additional indirect jobs across logistics, maintenance, component supply and distribution.Ghana web news The President linked the financing push to a wider strategy of building Ghana into West Africa’s automotive manufacturing hub, citing the Ghana Automotive Development Policy, which has attracted brands including Volkswagen, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, Kia, Great Wall Motors, Geely, Chery, Forland and Peugeot, alongside indigenous manufacturer Kantanka. President Mahama commended Zonda Tec’s founder, Yang Yang, for establishing the Zonda Tec Academy to train young Ghanaians in automotive skills and the Zonda Tec Foundation, which has announced scholarships for Ghanaians to study automotive manufacturing in China