Importers, traders and clearing agents have been urged to get conversant with the laws that govern their activities at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

This would prevent delays caused by mistakes because of inadequate knowledge of the right processes.

Dr. JJ Nii Quartey Laryea Papafio, Chief Regional Officer, General Duties for the KIA Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) Collection, gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, during a Tax education Seminar, held in Accra.

The seminar, organized by the KIA CEPS Collection, was attended by CEPS officials, importers, traders, clearing agents, and a number of other stake-holders.

Dr. Papafio said one key problem of importers was that “most of them are ignorant of the regimes we (CEPS) operate.”

He said these importers, therefore, spent a lot of time correcting mistakes they had made during the importation processes, which created difficulties for both the importers and CEPS officials.

Dr. Papafio said the presentation of fake documents and the wrong description of goods were typical problems of imports.

He said if one was not sure of the exact content of a box of items that had been imported for example, “you apply through a document known as the Provisional Bill of Entry, which empowers CEPS officials to open up your goods, in order to save you from making a false representation.”

The Chief Regional Officer said if stakeholders were familiar with the sanctions, they would be deterred from making such mistakes.

Dr. Papafio said the KIA CEPS collection would organize such educative seminars more regularly, in order to have a better informed public, and also minimize customs related difficulties at the airport.

He urged CEPS officers to also abide by the laws of the land, in order to have the moral integrity to enforce them.

Madam Kafui Modey, Chief Revenue Officer, Preventive, KIA CEPS, said “if you know what to do, if you are conversant with the rules and regulations, you avoid sanctions, then our collaboration is much more effective.”

She urged stakeholders to strive to know, and go by the rules, “so we can achieve mutually.”