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Manufacturers and Importers will from today, be required to emboss tax stamps on their products before releasing them unto the market.

This follows the implementation of the excise tax stamp policy by the Ghana Revenue Authority.

While some manufacturers are expected to start complying with the directive from today, Citi Business News understands importers clearing their goods at the ports may have to wait a while longer following the strike by some business organizations including freight forwarders and the importers and exporters association.

The business organizations are challenging the policy, citing inadequate consultation, an increased cost of operation as well as excessive delays at the ports as their bases.

An executive of the Technical Committee of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, John Mantey has been speaking to Citi Business News about the concerns of the business organizations. “I don’t even know the idea behind that whether to protect the local consumer or whom are we protecting? Every single box you have to put a stamp on it; one person brings in a machine, sets it somewhere… now go to the port, the queues there, get those goods on the truck you take them to another place and then you have to offload them-labour, you will have to pay for that,” John Mantey remarked.

“Where are we going as a country? The standard board’s stamp is on every single item that is imported into the country. Let’s think about these things and make sure something better is done. This tax stamp is a no-no for anyone,” he further lamented.