The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has issued a cautionary notice to clearing agents operating at the ports, advising them against the use of fraudulent documentation in order to facilitate the payment of customs duties by importers at the port.
The warning comes after it was found out in February 2023 that two companies and importers had forged trade documents on their bills of lading when clearing goods from the Tema Port. The Commissioner for Customs, Alhaji Idrisu Seidu Iddisa, issued a warning indicating that people who engage in such activities will be faced with legal consequences.
“It was revealed that some agents process customs declarations with inaccurate particulars with the aim of paying lower customs duty and taxes. The agent consequently provided cloned customs declarations (flying entries) containing the actual description of the goods, the actual customs value, duty rates, and collected the amount payable from the importer and provided fake descriptions of goods and values which attracted lower duties to customs,” as quoted by myjoyonline.
“While demand notices have been issued for retrieving the taxes and penalties lost to the state, investigations are ongoing, which may lead to prosecution,” he added.
To ensure that appropriate punishments are applied, the Commissioner has also hinted that investigations are being broadened to “fish out” all who may be part of such syndicates.
