Accra, Feb. 6, GNA - Fifteen senior officers of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) are in Australia to undertake a specialized training programme at the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies, University of Canberra.

The team led by Mr Paul Adubofour, Deputy Commissioner in charge of Administration and Human Resource, would undergo training in several key areas including Customs Control, Risk Profiling and Management Fraud Detection, including special modules covering Warehousing, Free Zone Operations, Transit and Transhipment Operations and Management. A statement issued on Friday by CEPS said the training programme sponsored by Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet), which had developed an automated system for trade and customs clearances, is part of the preparatory arrangement for the deployment of an upgrade customs management system for CEPS over the next three months. Mr Adubofour said the training formed part of GCNet's on-going capacity building programme for CEPS, under which officers were sponsored to undertake various study programme in the United Kingdom, covering key CEPS functions such as Tax Assessment and Audit, Valuation and Risk Management.

The training programme in Canberra is being conducted under a tripartite agreement signed by GCNet, CEPS and the University of Canberra. According to the statement the project envisaged that 50 officers would undergo training both in Canberra and Ghana annually.