The Equatorial Guinea Shippers’ Council met with representatives of the country’s leading shipping agencies to provide information on the implementation of a new hydrocarbon levy, authorised under the Tax Law and set at 650 francs per tonne for operations passing through national waters...

On 27 April, the Equatorial Guinea Shippers’ Council held an information meeting with representatives of the main shipping agencies operating in the country: Gepetrol, Sonagas GE, Akon, TLC SA and BESORA. The purpose was to announce the implementation of a new levy on hydrocarbons under the **Tax Law (Law No. 10)**.

Until now, the Council had been authorised primarily to charge for **cargo transported by sea**, covering general cargo entering and leaving national waters. However, hydrocarbons were not specifically covered by the previous regulations, preventing them from being billed separately.

Following the update to the Tax Law, the Government has authorised the Council to apply a **levy of 650 francs per tonne of hydrocarbons**. This levy is added to the usual cost structure and applies to all operations involving either gas or oil. The relevant volumes must always be converted into tonnes for calculation and subsequent invoicing.

**Requirement to Include the Levy in Invoices**

During the meeting, shipping agencies were informed that they must now notify their clients of the existence of this new levy in Equatorial Guinea and explicitly include it in their quotations and invoices.

Under standard contracts in the sector, shipowners request an itemised breakdown of all anticipated port charges, including berthing, mooring and services. From now on, this breakdown must also clearly and in advance include the **hydrocarbon levy of 650 francs per tonne**.

The Council emphasised that this is a **legally established and mandatory levy**. The main purpose of the meeting was to inform industry stakeholders and establish a common understanding of how this provision should be applied in invoicing procedures.