Freight forwarders operating at the country’s ports have denied reports that they are sabotaging the paperless transaction system.
The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, Customs Brokers Association of Ghana and the Association of Customs House Agents said accusations that they were hampering the paperless system through under-declaration, tax evasion, among others, were malicious and false.
They said that the freight forwarders would do everything possible to ensure that the paperless system succeeds to clear cargo quickly.
Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, who addressed a news conference on Wednesday, disclosed that the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) should establish a support desk manned by an Assistant Commissioner, to help address the numerous challenges under the paperless system.
He cited the absence of an effective call centre to respond to end-to-end issues, difficulties in transmission of Customs Classification and Valuation Report (CCVR) from Pre-Arrival Assessment Reporting System (PAARS) to Ghana Integrated Cargo Clearance System (GICCS), misalignment of the former and new process resulting in confused process by-pass, as well as failure of GPHA’s booking and billing system as some challenges affecting the smooth implementation of the paperless system.
“We are committed to the success of the paperless system. We have real issues, the first-in-first-out rule must be adopted so as to prevent issues of selectivity motivated by whatever interest. As soon as practicable, there must be a roadmap for version 1.1 of the paperless process set on course to re-align the processes to depict the true intent of His Excellency the Vice President’s White Paper on the policy,” Mr Appiah underscored.
The paperless system started September 1, 2017 at the country’s ports, but was characterized by some challenges.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who spoke at an orientation ceremony organized by the National Communications Authority (NC) for some 170 National Service Personnel (NSP), who have been posted to the Authority for the 2017/2018 service year, on Tuesday, claimed that an initial assessment of the implementation of the paperless system showed an improvement in collection by 56 percent.
According to the vice president, revenue at the ports increased from GH¢130 million in the first week of September 2016 to GH¢213 million in the same period for 2017.
“The results are amazing. We just looked at data this morning – first week of collections under the paperless system in September this year, compared to last year’s first week of collections in September 2016, and collections have gone up by 56 percent; 56 percent from around GH¢130 million to GH¢213 million in one week,” he said.
Nevertheless, on Monday, officials in-charge at the ports employed the paperless system together with the manual one to address some challenges that bedeviled the implementation of the new system 13 days ago.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema