George Ofori, GUTA president
The Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA) has bemoaned what it described as arbitrary increases in the value of imports by the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
GUTA made this known in a press statement issued yesterday in Accra and signed by Joseph Paddy, its Public Relations Officer (PRO).
According to GUTA, “On average, the values are being raised by 100 percent and over, with the shipping lines also taking undue advantage.”
“This has resulted in the recent increase in prices of goods in the market. It has a greater possibility of increasing further, if this practice of Customs valuation does not seize immediately,” it said.
The statement said that the development was having a negative effect on efforts by the government to curb inflation.
“This unfortunate incident will not augur well for the development and growth of the economy, as it rapidly dwindles our hard earned working capital, as well as stifles all the efforts in the making to facilitate trade and reduce time and cost of doing business in the country,” it said.
Doubt
GUTA further emphasized that “the situation in the port seems not to only surprise the business community but also confuses and compels us to ask whether the exit of the defunct Destination Inspection Companies (DICs) is taking a heavy toll on the operations of GRA-Customs Division as we do not even know whether the new system has a set of values as a bench mark for valuation, resulting in this catastrophic and unwarranted increase of values.”
By Melvin Tarlue