Accra, May 10, GNA- The Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on Thursday re-launched its website, a move to ensure constant interaction with the public, and to serve the needs of its diverse clientele. The website, could now be accessed by the address; w.w.w.ghanacustoms.gov.gh.

Developed in 1998, and formerly under the address W.W.W.cepsghana.org, the website became dormant for some years due to challenges faced by the managers.

It was reactivated last year with assistance from Internet Ghana. Launching the website in Accra, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu commended the CEPS management for recognising the need to revamp and reactivate the site because the use of technology had opened up economies and created wealth in the developed world.

"I commend the management for this and hope this event will whip up interest and encourage businessmen, travellers, the international community, including Ghanaians living abroad to regularly visit the site to access information.

The Minister argued that in the developed world, communication had advanced to a stage that information exchange had become fast, creating an opportunity for governments to interact swiftly without impediments and for the business community to make transactions in seconds. For this reason, he said, the developing world had no choice but to conform to the order in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century, adding, "In this regard, I can say that Ghana has made some modest gains."

Mr Baah-Wiredu said CEPS's dominant role in international trade, national security, the fight against smuggling and illicit trade and its contribution to the nation's development in mobilising national revenue could be further enhanced with the website as a medium for the dissemination of information.

He said, CEPS could better achieve its mandate when it publicised all illegal activities, as well as demystify its operations by vigorously educating the business community and the public on its operations, procedures and the critical position it occupies in the economy.

"I believe CEPS has a duty to put together and disseminate as widely as possible so as to interact with its business partners, both national and international regularly. This website should be one of the tools and a medium to achieve this."

The Minister tasked the managers of the website regularly update the information on the website even though is current contents were quite exhaustive.

He reaffirmed government's continued support to empower the management of CEPS to create the necessary conditions for change, modernisation and institutional renewal. Mr. Emmanuel Doku, CEPS Commissioner said the service placed a high premium on public education and considered it its duty to satisfy the needs of its clients.

He said CEPS onerous duty of mobilising about 55 percent tax revenue into government coffers every year was no easy task, but one that required constant communication links with its clients and the general public.

Mr Doku said that over the years, the service had designed various programmes to respond to concerns about customs procedures, and have also continued to review its operations and procedures to make them more user friendly and to forge closer links with clients.

He said this and other efforts to streamline customs procedures and regimes necessitated that the service put up the website to address the numerous needs of the public and the business community.

The Commissioner gave the assurance that information on the site would be frequently updated to meet changing situations.

Information on the site covers various Customs regimes including: Imports, Exports, Temporary Imports, Duty Drawback, Warehousing, Free Zones, Customs Commodity Codes and the Harmonised Commodity Codes Tariff Schedules, among others.