GRA Intelligence Unit warns importers who under declare their cargo

The Intelligence Unit of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has cautioned importers and declarants of cargoes to desist from under-declaring, mis-describing, devaluing weight, and under-invoicing as the Unit is tracking such activities.

Mr Wisdom Xetor, Assistant Commissioner Intelligence, GRA, told the media that his outfit had been doing some tracking and monitoring underground to uncover such operators and bring them to book.

Mr Xetor said when importers and their agents were found to have engaged in any of the illegal acts, the GRA, as part of sanctions, could impose a 300 percent duty penalty on them and seize the items.

He disclosed that currently, the GRA had intercepted at MPS Terminal Three, a container containing paper products after being monitored for two and a half months.

He said the importers and declarants were suspected of engaging in under-invoicing, mis-describing, and devaluing weight.

Mr. Xetor indicated that after taking statements from both the importer and agent and several meetings, they agreed to open the container on a certain date to physically examine the product, but the declarants did not show up.

He said they, however, showed up when they realised that the GRA had blocked them from the system, making it impossible for them to do business with the Authority until the issue was thoroughly investigated.

The Assistant Commissioner explained that even though they declared importing stationery, the scan picked the items as A4 papers, adding that they also entered about 68-line items, while it showed as one line item.

He explained that while stationery attracted a five percent duty rate, A4 paper, which is classified as a finished product, has a 20 percent duty on it; therefore, mis-describing meant paying lower rates during clearing.

He added that other importers also devalue the weight of their cargoes, stating, for instance, that instead of entering 18 metric tonnes, they would indicate eight.

“We are therefore sending a clear message to the importing public that we are monitoring them, so they should declare the correct thing, as we will deal with them according to the law,” he added.

Source: GNA