Importers – Stop Giving Money To Agents To Pay Your Duties
The national chairman of Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana (CADEG) Mr. Eddie Kusi Ankomah has advise importers not to rely on clearing agents to pay their duties but should rather do it themselves since all payments are done at the bank to avoid problems with customs when transporting their goods to their destinations.
“It now different from those days that importers didn’t know how much to pay and will give money to clearing agents to pay our duties for us but now after declaration customs will send the duties to the agent which has to be paid at the bank, so you have to ask the agent who is clearing your goods to give you by the duty bill so that you pay it yourself”. He said:
“Please stop giving money to agents to pay your bills at the Port, they are giving us problems and the results is that he overcharges you, the agents will re-do invoices that will not be just as you gave him and after that your goods are out of the port, customs will intercept them for reexamination and it would be found out that, the duty paid is different from what is in the container. According to the customs they are working on intelligence reports from the same clearing agents. So please before paying duties make sure that the items declared on the BOE is correct to avoid these problems”. He added.
Mr. Eddie Kusi Ankomah, who is the CEO of Erata Motors gave this advice when the chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana in collaboration with Ghana Customs Division organized a stakeholders’ engagement to address trade facilitation challenges facing importers in Ghana in Kumasi.
President of Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) Dr. Joseph Obeng revealed that, the customs Division of GRA has been harassing their members with numerous checks on their imported goods targeting members in the Northern part of the country mostly the Ashanti region.
“We are not trying to prevent you from doing your work, but the frequency at which you do it is where our concerns lies”, he indicated.
Dr. Obeng said when the frequency of the checks becomes recurring, then it looks like businesses in the Ashanti region or the northern sector is targeted since such incidents has not been happening in Accra or Takoradi.
Deputy commissioner of Operations GRA Baffour Anane Asare urge importers to take key interest in payment of their duties at the Ports to avoid having problems with customs.
Responding to concerns raise by importers concerning numerous checks, deputy commissioner said the customs Division sometimes set up these checks to identify goods that were wrongly identified or that were under declared since their scanning machines can not identify every item in the container.
He promised the importers that concerns raised during the engagement will be addressed to ensure that businesses develop to help in revenue collection.
President of chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana Nana Adu Bonsu stated that the automobile industry in Ghana holds immense potential to drive economic growth, create employment opportunities and contribute to the development of the nation. However, we find ourselves at a crossroads, facing obstacles that threaten to stifles our growth and hinder our ambition.
He said ” the challenges we face are multifaceted, ranging from cumbersome trade procedures and complex regulations to corrupt practices that erode trust and hinder progress”.
Nana Adu Bonsu who is also the CEO of NABUS motors appeal to business owners to confront the challenges facing the business communities head-on, armed with innovative ideas, collaborative efforts and an unwavering commitment to change.
