No cars disappearing from the ports - GRA assures
The Tema Command of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has dismissed reports about the disappearance of vehicles confiscated to the state from the various holding terminals at the Tema Port.
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According to the Sector Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Customs (AC) Confidence Nyadzi, information available to the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) suggested that the allegations were without merit.
Widespread allegations in the public domain sought to suggest that confiscated vehicles were being cleared hurriedly from the port by persons believed to be associated with the ruling government.
Subsequently, some men are said to have stormed the port premises apparently to stop what was being alleged.
The action prompted the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) to beef up security at all entry and exit points of various import holding terminals within the port to prevent any insurgence.
Documentation
Addressing the media in Tema last Friday, Mr Nyadzi indicated that the confiscated vehicles, like any other vehicle leaving the port, ought to have the requisite documentation, including the receipt for import duty, covering them.
According to him, before a vehicle could be allowed to exit the port, there needed to be a declaration put in by a declarant (importer) into the GCMS that would allow for the processing and the release of the vehicle.
“Under no circumstance would a vehicle be cleared from the port without the necessary documentation, including import duty payment,” Mr Nyadzi stated.
He was of the view that for a vehicle to be confiscated, it ought to go through certain processes, including a publication in the national gazette.
“Confiscated vehicles can only be disposed of from the port through allocations and public auctions and these are done through laid-down procedures and not any unconventional means as being speculated,” Mr Nyadzi noted.
The Chief Revenue Officer in charge of Outdoor, Mr Peter Alu, indicated that the Customs Law provided that vehicles imported into the country needed to be cleared within the stipulated 60 days.
According to him, failure to do so within the period required that Customs confiscate the vehicle to the state.
“The law also provides a framework for the importer (owner) and his agent to petition the commissioner of Customs to explain, if there were any reasons, why the vehicle was not cleared within the time frame,” Mr Alu pointed out.
Such an application, he explained, could inform the commissioner’s decision to give the owner a “first offer privilege” which affords the importer to pay the necessary charges, including demurrage, to be able to clear the vehicle.
“If the owner, after being taken through the above-mentioned processes, still fails to pay the necessary taxes to clear the vehicle, Customs can then go ahead and begin processes to gazette the vehicle or vehicles after which an auction notice is issued in the national dailies,” Mr Alu stressed.
Allocations
On the allocation of confiscated vehicles, Mr Alu revealed that there was an Allocation Committee Division that vetted and approved applications submitted to it by individuals, organisations and institutions such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), orphanages, among other groupings.
He indicated that when such allocations are done, the beneficiaries are given a letter from the head office of Customs, which they then present at the Tema Command for the processing of necessary declaration documentation.
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