Ghana court preserves SML’s depot equipment in its fight with GRA

Ghana court preserves SML’s depot equipment in its fight with GRA

The Commercial Court in Accra has ordered SML’s monitoring equipment at 25 fuel depots preserved pending its case against the Ghana Revenue Authority. SML puts its investment at over US$500m.

October 17, 2026

Ghana’s High Court (Commercial Court 3, Accra) has granted Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) a preservation order over its equipment at all 25 fuel depots in the country, pending its dispute with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

What happened

Justice Doris Awuah Dabanka-Bekoe granted the order, reported on 16 October 2026 by MyJoyOnline. It covers automatic tank gauges, ultrasonic flow meters, remote terminal units, satellite equipment, power shelters, solar systems and cabling. SML sued after the GRA asked it to remove its equipment from a Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST) depot.

SML seeks recovery of its investment outlay, which it estimates at over US$500m. That is the company’s claim, not a finding of the court. The order preserves the position while the substantive case proceeds; no ruling on the merits has been reported.

Why it matters

How Ghana’s courts treat the unwinding of a revenue-assurance contract with a private operator will be read closely by investors in other public-private service arrangements.

Photo: Fanti Salms / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (illustrative).

The Meridian Editorial Team

Andrew U. — Editorial Director | Damilare A. — Intelligence Director | Amaka Nwoye — Senior Legal Research Analyst | Salome Mensah — Market Intelligence Analyst | May Ndlovu — Editorial Researcher | K.K. Lawal — Senior Correspondent | The Meridian’s editorial team brings experience across West African legal markets, commercial law, market intelligence and structured research. Our standard is simple: evidence first, independent judgement, and analysis grounded in how legal work happens in practice.