In the face of growing public outcry on the cost of doing business at the ports and borders of the country, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is encouraging the trading public to familiarize themselves with the process involved in exacting import duties.

Although a cumbersome and highly technical process, customs is hopeful that the fundamentals of import duty calculations will be understood by the average trader who conducts business across the country’s ports and borders.

Speaking on the current affairs maritime television program, Eye on Port, last Sunday, Smile Agbemenu, a Chief Revenue Officer at the Policy and Programmes Department of the Customs Division of GRA emphasized that Ghana Customs processes are in line with international best practices and backed by the constitution of the country.

He said, the law-making arm of the government of Ghana, like all other countries decides fixed percentage duty rates that are applied on Customs values of various categories of products.

Furthermore, he said, by virtue of her membership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ghana applies the common external tariff of ECOWAS which standardizes the rates of duties that are applied on the customs value of goods.

“The rates of import duties are of five tax bands and they include 0% rated, which are deemed to be social goods, 5% rated items which are raw materials or capital goods, 10% rated items which are largely intermediate goods or 20% rated items and 35% which cover finished consumer goods,” he explained.

According to him, these goods are classified under the internationally recognized Harmonized Commodity Description System (HS code) which helps customs derive the customs value of the product in addition to the freight and insurance values of the shipment.

In the case of used motor vehicles, Mr. Agbemenu said the home delivery values of cars are used in arriving at the customs values and this may change depending on the age of the vehicle at the point of purchase.

“So if you have bought the Mercedes-Benz from the showroom at say €40,000 then you begin to adjust that particular value depending on the extent of usage of the vehicle. So where it is not more than 6 months they are saying admit it at no adjustment which is called the home delivery value but where it is more than 6 months but not more than one and half years then adjust it by deducting 15% of that value. Where it is more than 1 and half years but not more than 2 and half years adjust it by taking 30% of that home delivery value. Again when it is more than two and half years but not more than 5 years it says adjust it by taking 40%,” he explained.

The import duties which are paid in the local currency, he noted, are just one component of the lump sum of taxes and fees payable during clearance.

Mr. Agbemenu said customs verify the appropriate transaction values of products through various means in addition to the HS codes like invoice verification. He added that declarants are at liberty to appeal customs values per the laws of the country.

He revealed that the Ghana Revenue Authority has been tasked this year to meet a target of GHC 150 billion of which Customs is expected to raise about 30% of that and his outfit is optimistic towards meeting this ambitious target.