Business associations want custom authorities to be tough and avert any lapses in the clearing process at the ports.
They argue that the inability to implement existing laws have partly accounted for the losses hence must be checked.
The comment comes after the suspension of the Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) last Friday, February 16, 2018.
Obviously pleased with the decision by the Office of the Vice President to suspend the implementation of the CTN, the businesses maintain that the losses have largely been due to a lax monitoring system at the ports.
Vice President of the Association of Ghana Industries, Humphrey Ayim-Darkeh tells Citi Business News reviewing the customs documentation process to allow cross-checking of information on imports, should correct potential malpractices.
“For instance, if I import a particular consignment of goods and the forwarding agent passes the entry and the description is done by a customs and there is an element of under declaration, we will see it in the portal,” he explained.
Freight Forwarders equally maintain that compelling shippers to comply with standardized format for presenting manifests which describes the weight, volume as well as the stowage plan for a consignment of goods, should reduce under declaration.
The President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah stated as,
“The shippers provide the manifest but the timing and the format that it takes; it is very crucial because if the consignment gets to the destination before manifest is provided, that could lend itself to a whole lot of discrepancies. But if it is provided from source, then everyone gets to be comfortable with the process.”
It is unclear whether the government bears any judgement debt with the latest development as managers of the platform are yet to comment on the matter.
But Citi Business News understands that there is a crunch meeting on the issue later this week to decide the next action.
For the AGI and the freight forwarders, enforcing international best practices could also improve revenue mobilization going forward.
“Guarding under-invoicing, mis-description of products, dumping and other related issues, we think the Ghana International Trade Commission ought to be inaugurated as that would be one of the institutions to complement the efforts of the AGI in meeting its goal,” Mr. Ayim-Darkeh added.
His counterpart, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah stressed, “I would want to urge the GRA on to tool its staff and make them understand the changing phase in international trade business such as Trade facilitation and its impact.”
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By: Pius Amihere Eduku/citibusinesnews.com/Ghana