Importers have been asked to declare the actual value of goods they import into the country.
Emmanuel Kofi Nti, Commissioner General of the Ghana of Revenue Authority (GRA), disclosed this while addressing members of the Importers and Exporters Association and Traders Unions at the Okaishie Drug Lane in Accra.
Mr. Nti bemoaned the insincerity on the part of importers in declaring wrong value of their imports which must be reversed in the shortest possible time.
“Our mission is to help reduce the incidence of leakages in tax collection so that the nation will derive more for its development agenda, if you make it your practice to do the right thing, present the right documents, description and value paid on the goods at the country of origin, you are bound to receive your fair assessment at the port of discharge,” he stated.
He revealed that his main preoccupation is to ensure that GRA personnel at every level act professionally in accordance with their mandate, among others.
Felix Mate-Kojo, Tema Port Commander, debunked reports that taxes had been increased at the country’s ports.
Something else could be responsible for the apparent rise. It is only an honest declaration of the goods brought into the country by the importer that would establish the reality, according to Mr Mate-Kojo.
He said that a lot of importers lack knowledge of the port clearance procedures, saying that has forces them to pay huge amounts of money to clearing agents.
The Port Commander urged them to acquaint themselves with activities at the various ports, adding that more stakeholder engagements would be held.
“Personnel at the ports do not determine the value of your goods, everything happens at the headquarters and our mandate is to have the eagle’s eye checks to eliminate any anomalies that go through the systems before allowing the importer access to the goods,” he stated.
The importers on the other hand wondered why government had quickly implemented the Economic Community of West African States Tariffs without the implementation of the Common Currency among the 177 recommendations expected.
“This haste by government to implement the tariffs is fast killing our businesses, as we now have to pay more even on little things such as biscuits which should be affordable,” he stated.
They called on government to reduce taxes to ensure the sustenance of their businesses in these trying times.
<<Print>>