The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has made recommendations to government to reduce import levies after the successful implementation of the Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) in the last quarter of the year.
Speaking at the Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition 2018, the President of AGI, Dr. Yaw Adu Gyamfi said, with the effective and successful implementation of the CTN, government should be able to rake in more revenue.
For this reason, the association expects that getting into the next fiscal year, government should be able to reduce import taxes and levies at the port of entries, Dr. Gyamfi added.
He noted that, the association supports any efforts by government, aimed at bringing transparency to the importation of goods into the country as long as it does not bring untold hardship to businesses.
He also called on government to further look into the concerns raised by the freight forwarders on the additional cost burden, among other proposals, adding that, government should not backtrack on this effort.
The CTN presents a platform for collection and management of commercial and logistical information relating to the cargo and ship from the port of loading to the port of discharge.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) last month postponed the implementation of the Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) to October 15, 2018, following consultations between government and key stakeholders.
The postponement of the implementation date is to allow for a more consultation and sensitization of all stakeholders with the view to build and deepen understanding and consensus.
Furthermore, this would help to address all concerns raised by the trading community before the new date of the implementation of the CTN.
The CTN forms part of the changes in global cargo security policies following events of 9/11 in 2001, which led to the establishment of new protocols for tracking and screening cargo.
In many countries, these protocols have been incorporated into international framework such as those under the World Customs Organization (WCO), and in-country -specific programs such as the Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) administered by the United States.
By Joshua W. Amlanu
