Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana issues 2025 market levy guidelines setting operator fees and transaction and admission levies

The Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana (SEC) published Guidelines on Market Levies for 2025, setting annual levies for market operators and specifying transaction and admission levies, including how the charges are apportioned and when they must be remitted. Annual market operator levies include GH¢ 50,000 for a stock exchange and securities depository, GH¢ 20,000 for primary dealers, custodians, issuing houses and note trustees, GH¢ 15,000 for a commodity exchange, collective investment scheme trustees and credit rating agencies, GH¢ 7,500 for fund managers, GH¢ 5,000 for broker-dealers, investment advisers, registrars, crowdfunding intermediaries and crowdfunding platform operators, and GH¢ 3,000 for commodities warehouse operators. Operators must pay by the end of the first quarter of the year, either in full or in up to three instalments with the last instalment due by June 30 of the applicable year. Transaction levies are payable by both the purchaser and seller and are due within 10 working days after the end of the month in which the transaction was effected, with rates and allocations set for shares, bonds and repurchase transactions. Fixed-income securities issued by the Government, corporates and metropolitan and municipal assemblies also attract an admission levy of 0.018% of face value, apportioned between Central Securities Depository Ltd (0.015%) and the SEC (0.003%), with Central Securities Depository required to remit within 15 working days after month-end; non-payment is subject to SEC enforcement powers under section 209(4) of the Securities Industry Act.