Accra, June 16, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor last Friday gave assent to the amendment of the Custom and Excise (Duty and other Taxes) Act 2008, to remove import duties on rice, wheat, yellow maize and crude vegetables for soap and food manufacture to become law. A statement issued in Accra on Monday and signed by Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman said "With this law now operational, it is expected that importers would benefit from the removal of duties and other taxes and subsequently pass on such benefits to the end consumers."

"Importers are reminded that it should be criminal for anybody to re-export these duty-free items," it added.

The statement said removal of the taxes was aimed at reducing prices of these commodities on the market to inure to the benefit of consumers in the face of rising food and fuel prices globally. President Kufuor on May 23, announced measures to mitigate the hardship on Ghanaians resulting from the global food and fuel crises. The measures also included the reduction of excise duty and debt recovery levy on gas oil, kerosene and marine gas oil, which have already been implemented and operational.

In announcing the reductions, President Kufuor asked all Ghanaians, particularly the importers to cooperate to make the benefits felt by all.