Environmental Protection Levy Revised

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, says that changes has been made to the Environmental Protection Levy (EPL) following discussions with manufacturers.

Closing the 2026/27 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 24), the Minister explained that manufacturers voiced concern about the previous announcement that the base on which the levy is applied would move from 75 per cent to 100 per cent of sales, effective May 1, 2026.

“The manufacturers raised a legitimate concern that this change would place local manufacturers at a disadvantage relative to importers, on whom the Environmental Protection Levy is applied to the Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value, which naturally excludes the distribution margin that is embedded in the selling price,” she noted.

“When the 75 per cent base for manufacturers was introduced in 2015, it was deliberately designed to put domestic producers on a level footing with importers. We’re, therefore, retaining the 75 per cent sales base for manufacturers. However, to maintain revenue neutrality, with the retention of the 75 per cent manufacturer base, we’ll have to increase the Environmental Protection Levy rate modestly from 0.8 per cent as previously announced, to 0.85 per cent for both manufacturers and importers,” she stated.

The measure is projected to generate approximately $3. 6 billion in revenue.