The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has asked stakeholders to ensure export data integrity by recording and transmitting accurate export data which is crucial for economic planning.

According to Mr Samuel Dentu, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, GEPA, “Date is utilized by the government institutions, donors, investors, banks and business for policy planning, designing of economic interventions and business decision-making.”

He was addressing a sensitization programme organised for Freight Forwarders on the need to protect and transmit accurate export data in Tema which was necessitated by observation by GEPA that some inaccurate data loss due to non-presentation of some manually completed to the Customs Long Room.

The workshop was the eighth and final programme in 2018 for freight forwarders across Ghana which was organised by GEPA in collaboration with GIFF and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority.

“Freight Forwarders enter the inaccurate data into online export declaration system with little circumspection and or with too much haste hence resulting in the capture of wrong data with values far lower or far above the actual.

With respect to the data loss, the observation is that some freight forwarders fail to present duly completed and assessed export forms to customs long room that do not have online data capture system at border post.”

He observed that another cause of date inaccuracies and loss was due to unannounced application of revised Custom Harmonised Codes (HS codes).

“An immense volume of export data could be lost when there is failure to pre-announce due date for the commencement of application of revised HS codes to key stakeholders who extract raw data from online data capture systems such as GcNet/Singe Widow”

According to him, the poor integrity of export data was a huge worry because”we at GEPA believe that the actual export earnings are higher than what is captured statistically.”