The Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), has called on the Ghana Revenue Authority and other stakeholders at the various ports to review the current model of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) system.
The freight forwarders are currently on strike to protest implementation of the CTN which is scheduled for September 1st, 2018.
Speaking on Citi TV’s current affairs program, The Point of View, President of GIFF, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, said the CTN policy is not useful in its current form and should therefore be reviewed.
Mr. Appiah further pointed out that the policy is only being rushed and poses a challenge to businesses.
“Why do you create a system who’s value is not useful ? Since January we have asked questions about the CTN but nobody is answering. What is the haste?All we are asking for is that if you want to do this thing, stay put , do it well so everybody moves within the ambit of certainty and predictability. We are not ready ..When you have addressed the issue of how is transshipment going to be treated…The issue of the US not allowing their electronic information to be used and how are you going to treat it, then you can think of implementation.”
Speaking on the same show, the President of the Chamber of Freight and Trade, Dennis Amfo Sefa however pointed out that the implementation of the CTN will tackle under declaration of imported goods at the ports.
“Customs believe that documents are most of the times not genuine and they want to find a way to cure it because I do not believe Customs just decided to introduce this policy,” he argued.
Background
The freight forwarders embarked on a strike from August 27, 2018 to protest against the implementation of the Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) system at the ports.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Xe8B8t3CfGwj1GWQvprRPxncHkFxLro2″]The action was necessitated by what the businesses say is the government’s failure to heed concerns on the policy which impedes trade facilitation.
The strike means that there will be no duty collection at the ports in Takoradi and Tema.
The business associations partaking in the action include; the Customs Brokers Association of Ghana, the Association of Customs House Agents Ghana, Freight Forwarders Association of Ghana and the Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana.
Strike triggered by unresolved concerns
The President of the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders, Kwabena Ofosu Appiah, had told Citi Business News their action is to get a possible suspension of the CTN policy.
“We have asked certain questions, God being so good that Monday evening that is a week ago, we met the Deputy Minister of Finance and those questions were repeated there. Answers to them were not forthcoming. He asked that we give him a bit of time, but we told him that we have announced the timelines within which this action is going to manifest,” he noted.
He further explained that they are open to further consultation by the government to get their concerns addressed and possibly reduce the days for the strike.
“There are people in government who are listening, they are concerned. We want those people to know that they are not in the minority, we want those people to be assured that what they believe is wrong is wrong and we want other people who have not listened to our concerns to begin to gravitate towards us.”
The CTN requires importers to provide real time information on all consignments to Ghana to a global monitoring platform.
The cost which ranges between 100 and 200 dollars, is being borne by the GRA.
Already the Ship Owners and Agents Association has expressed concerns over the impact of the unresolved issues on the low volumes of cargo and revenue.
“If that becomes the case, it could affect even routing into Ghana so for instance, if your threshold into Ghana is about maybe a thousand or 300 boxes, and you get something like 50 boxes, maybe the beginning you might come,” the Executive Member of the Ship Owners and Agents Association, Adam Imoro Ayana told Citi Business News.
But the Commissioner of Customs of the GRA, Isaac Crentsil insists it will not back down on the policy as it works to reduce revenue leakages.
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By: Marian Ansah/citinewsroom.com/Ghana