• WAPCo tax exemption extended; corporate rate cut to 30%

• Changes aim ease investment constraints, update regional gas framework

Togo has revised the tax regime governing the West African Gas Pipeline, a key source of gas supply for the country.

The changes, enacted on Dec. 24, extend the tax exemption for pipeline operator West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo) by five years, bringing the total exemption period to 10 years.

Under the new framework, WAPCo’s corporate tax rate is cut to 30% from 35%, aligning it with rates in other countries participating in the regional project. The law allows Togo to raise the rate if necessary, but caps it at 35%.

The national assembly approved the amendments to the pipeline’s legal and fiscal framework during a plenary session. Deputy Energy Minister Messan Eklo presented the bill to lawmakers.

Eklo said the changes were designed to ease WAPCo’s financial constraints, which have limited its ability to invest, and to reflect shifts in operating conditions. These include the opening of a second gas entry point at Takoradi in Ghana and an increase in the number of operators in the sector.

The amendments also give the West African Gas Pipeline Authority (WAPGA) regulatory oversight of gas shippers, in line with the network code.

The 678-kilometre pipeline, most of it offshore in the Gulf of Guinea, carries natural gas from Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana. Operations began after a treaty signed by the four countries in January 2003. The previous legal framework dated back to December 2004.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi