Commercial cooking oil shipments are no longer allowed to pass through Ghana’s borders; instead, they must now only pass through the nation’s seaports, the government has said.
Following the recent interception of 18 articulated trucks that were declared for transit to Niger but were suspected of being a part of a larger transit diversion scam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Minister of Finance, issued the directive.
Consignments of cooking oil entering Ghana for further transit to landlocked nations will no longer be allowed to pass via land border collecting points under the new rule.
Instead, they have to be processed only through Ghana’s seaports, which have more stringent customs regulations, computerised tracking, scanning infrastructure, and valuation systems.
The decision follows visits to land borders in the Ketu South Municipality and the Ketu North District by the Commissioner-General of GRA, George Kwasi Sarpong, the Deputy Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, the Minister of Finance, and other senior custom officials.
Closing the transit regime’s flaws that have caused the state to suffer large revenue losses is the goal of the ruling.
The suspended revenue exposure in the latest instance was raised from about GH¢2.6 million to over GH¢85 million after post-interception tests revealed significant disparities in claimed unit values, tariff classifications, and weights.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) was instructed by the Minister of Finance to enforce rigorous compliance and conduct more thorough surveillance for all transactions coming from land collecting sites, in addition to prohibiting the land transit of cooking oil in commercial amounts.
Tighter supervisory monitoring, strengthened escort procedures, and increased container tracking are all part of this.
In addition, Dr. Forson mandated that any Customs officials found guilty of similar violations face immediate disciplinary action, and where there was evidence to justify prosecution, criminal investigations were opened against importers and clearing agencies.
According to officials, the rules are intended to protect local edible oil producers from unfair competition resulting from diverted transit commodities, in addition to protecting state revenue.
The government has reiterated its commitment to upholding the strictest provisions of the law, including the confiscation and auction of impounded items when necessary, and to making sure that Ghana’s customs system is not abused to jeopardise national development and domestic tax mobilisation.
Source: newsthemegh.com