Draft legislation to legalise WTO valuation system
Tema, {Greater Accra} 05 April 2000.
A draft legislation to give legal backing to the new World Trade Organisation (WTO), Customs Valuation System and the Destination Inspection Scheme (DIS) is being considered for promulgation.
Pending this, the Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has issued an order declaring that the Commissioner's Value shall no longer be applicable.
Mr. E. N. Doku, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS for Administration, was speaking to the GNA in reaction to a call by the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) for the repeal of the CEPS law for an effective implementation of the new system.
Act 511 section 34 of the CEPS law empowers the Commissioner's Value to prevail in case of doubts in the valuation of goods. Mr. Kofi Brako, GIFF President called for its repeal since it contradicts the WTO Valuation System, which took effect from 1 April, this year.
Mr. Doku said there was no need for importers and clearing agents to fear since Ghana as a signatory of the WTO Agreement is obliged to implement the new system to the letter while waiting for the new law to give it legal backing.
Mr. Boakye Fredua-Agyeman, CEPS Assistant Commissioner for Tema Collection, said a transitional period of two months would be allowed for the facing out of the old system since the x-ray scanner for the Tema Port would not be installed until June, this year.
He said CEPS has trained officers adding that some of them have been attached to the Gateway Services Limited (GSL) and Ghana Standards Bureau Veritas (GSBV), the two companies carrying out Destination Inspections in the country to avoid delays.
The Service has also established two technical teams comprising of four officers each at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and the Tema Port to assist during the transitional period.
Miss Annie Anipa, Acting assistant Commissioner of CEPS in-charge of Public Relations, said with the introduction of scanners and a drastic reduction in physical examination of goods, GSL and GSBV would be capable of handling the volume of imports.
A number of low risk consignments would be cleared without physical inspection while those identified, as potentially high risk would be subject to physical inspection.
On the future of the CEPS Task Force, Miss Anipa said they would be re-deployed to the Post Import Verification Unit to carry out random verification of goods based on intelligence reports to ensure high-level compliance.
Miss Anipa said CEPS is now going to "measure the actuality on the ground" to determine how long it would take to clear goods under the new system but said the target is eight hours.
She said CEPS has acquired faster printers for its computers at the Customs Long Room and is currently in the process of establishing direct computer links with GSL and GSBV to ensure full automation by the end of the year.
GRi…/