The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has ruled out any plans to suspend the implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs (CET).
Chief Revenue Officer of the Customs Service Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Dr Okoh Appiah told Citi Business News ‘this one has gone through. It’s an act of parliament now. Act 905, that’s the amendment of the customs tax. It’s an amendment of the customs tax now and we are implementing it’.
The authority’s assertions follows agitations by the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) and the Exporters and Importers Association of Ghana over CET’s implementation.
The two groups have threatened to hit the streets if the implementation of CET is not put on hold.
CET took effect on Monday, February, 1, 2016 but GUTA and the Exporters and Importers Association fear its take off will only leave them bankrupt and cripple their businesses.
But Chief Revenue Officer of the Customs Service Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Dr Okoh Appiah says plans are underway to meet the two groups to address unsettled issues.
‘We factored some, we could not factor everything into the CET because we had limited commodity codes or tariff lines to submit to ECOWAS Commission for consideration.
It’s an amendment of the customs tax now and we are implementing it. That is we have replaced our tariff with the ECOWAS Common External Tariff.
At that level, no. that’s why I say we don’t have the power act of parliament’. He said.
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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citifmonline.com/Ghana