Government has ordered the suspension of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) at the ports.
The directive, follows a meeting held on February 14, 2018, with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), chaired by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The CTN was introduced by government to track all imports to Ghana to reduce revenue losses associated with under declaration of goods at the ports.
But the policy, shortly after its initial introduction faced opposition from businesses and importers at the ports.
A letter sighted by Citi Business News, signed by the Secretary to the Vice President and Copied to the GRA, Ministry of Finance AGI, West Blue, and GCNet stated that “the introduction of the Cargo Tracking Note should be suspended”.
“This is because the information provided by the CTN is available on the manifest covering imports in Ghana,” it added.
“Instead you are requested to make the manifest available at both the pre arrival and arrival stages of the customs clearance process to ensure adequate controls and validation of declaration data,” the letter told the organizations copied.
It warned that the introduction of the CTN will increase the cost of doing business at ports and this is not in line with government’s vision of making Ghana the most business friendly nation in Africa.
Opposition to the CTN
Shortly after the introduction of the CTN, businesses at the ports expressed their displeasure and vowed to use all legal means to get it removed.
The freight forwarders, one of the groups against its introduction argued that the CTN is a duplication that will increase the cost of doing business.
They explained at the time that customs already has access to shipment information, hence no need for any new documentation.
-Citifmonline