Standards Authority sued over used-vehicle import ban
A private legal practitioner has sued the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), seeking to stop it from enforcing new rules that bar the importation of certain used vehicles.
A private legal practitioner has sued the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), seeking to stop it from enforcing new rules that bar the importation of certain used vehicles.
The lawyer, Alex Dodoo, Esq., through his lawyers, Dodoo & Partners, filed the suit at the High Court (General Jurisdiction) in Accra on October 5, 2026.
The GSA’s Director-General’s Office received the writ of summons on October 9. The Authority has eight days from service to enter an appearance, failing which judgement may be given in its absence.
Mr Dodoo is asking the court to declare that strict enforcement of the National Vehicle Standards prohibiting the importation of used vehicles is contrary to law and unlawful.
He also wants an order restraining the GSA from enforcing the standards as set out in its public notices of August 3 and August 14, 2026, plus costs.
The notices
In the August 3 notice, the GSA announced strict enforcement of the National Vehicle Homologation and Conformity Assessment programme from October 1.
New vehicle manufacturers and assemblers, as well as used vehicle importers, distributors and dealers, were required to register with the Authority.
The August 14 notice set out the administrative framework for enforcement.
According to the statement of claim, it listed used vehicles to be barred from entry: those submerged or damaged by flood, burnt or fire-damaged, with broken, cracked, bent or twisted chassis or safety cage, assembled from spare parts, lacking speedometers reading in kilometres per hour, or over 15 years old.
The plaintiff also says the notice bars vehicles not inspected in the country of origin by a GSA-approved third-party body with a Certificate of Conformance issued.
The legal argument
Mr Dodoo’s case is that the GSA can only prohibit imports of goods that fail to meet a prescribed mandatory standard, or acts pursuant to a statute.
He argues the National Vehicle Standards have not been declared mandatory by any law or instrument.
He contends that only the Minister responsible for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry can declare a standard mandatory, and that no notice to that effect has been published in the Gazette.
By treating the standards as mandatory, he argues that the GSA is usurping the Minister’s power and will keep acting unlawfully unless the court compels it to stop.
The writ describes the GSA as the body corporate responsible for establishing and maintaining standards for goods and services produced, procured or imported into the country.
No hearing date has been set, and it was not immediately clear whether the GSA had responded.
The Authority had not commented at the time of filing this report.
Why it matters
The suit comes weeks after the October 1 enforcement date, and will be closely watched by used-vehicle importers, dealers and the many Ghanaians who rely on imported second-hand cars.
A ruling could define how far the GSA can go in restricting imports without a ministerial declaration.
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