Barring any unforeseen glitches, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA-Customs) will start the implementation of goods clearance at selected ports of entry within a 24-hour time-frame beginning September 12, 2022, Ag. Commissioner of Customs Iddrisu Iddisah Seidu has confirmed.
There is currently no approved time baseline for clearing goods at the ports, even though the Customs Division has said this should have been done earlier to harmonise with implementation of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS).
Addressing various stakeholders at a workshop of the World Customs Organisation’s Time Release Study (TRS) in Accra, Mr. Seidu said the event, which is the final one in a series of engagements, will climax with implementation of the TRS at selected ports of entry across the country by mid-September this year.
The TRS is a systematic and standardised way to measure the average time taken between the arrival and release of goods, and has been recommended by the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
It is also used as a diagnostic tool to identify bottlenecks in the clearance process and logistics worldwide.
“Selected points of entry to begin the implementation are Tema, Kotoka International Arport and land borders at Paga and Aflao,” Mr. Seidu noted.
Key benefits of the TRS implementation, according to Mr. Seidu, will include improved efficiency of Customs administration and other government agencies; reduction in transaction cost for traders; and better conditions for accelerating international movements of cargo among others.
A Trade Expert at the WCO, Christian David, at the event noted that Ghana’s resolve to ensure implementation of the TRS shows how passionate it is about ensuring trade facilitation in the sub-region.
He said the international movement of cargo has become dynamic, hence an innovation must be adopted to help traders promptly clear their goods at the ports.
Legal basis of the TRS
Ghana ratified the World Trade Organisation’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in 2017, with the obligation to consciously eliminate any red-tape through modernisation, harmonisation and simplification of clearing processes at various ports.
Article 7.6.1 of the WTO trade facilitation agreement enjoins all member-countries to undertake the TRS, so as to indicate the time it takes for goods to be moved out of ports upon arrival. This becomes major evidence to show that the participating country is actually facilitating trade.
Government has since January 2020 been working to implement an end-to-end automated Customs operational and management system in line with the TFA of WTO and the WCO, of which the TRS is a key intervention.
The TRS process is not a novel initiative in Africa, as some countries in the sub-region including Gambia, Kenya and Uganda, among others, have been utilising the innovation and are able to clear goods within six hours upon arrival at their ports.
