It would be recalled that the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) upon the deployment of ICUMS at the Tema Port, raised issues with the effectiveness of the new system stating that ICUMS, which was to be an improvement of the previous Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS), had rather disrupted trade facilitation and replaced the paperless clearance system with a lot of paper works, hard copy documentation, and human interference. 

GIFF, among other concerns raised, noted a vehicle, due to the non-existent of the paperless port clearance system, now takes five weeks to be cleared from the port.

“We have gone back to the situation of printing all documents. There are no SLAs (Service Level Agreements) with which one can define how long the clearance process is supposed to take. It has become normal to clear vehicles within a five-week window which is unacceptable,” GIFF noted in a presentation paper submitted to the government on the challenges in trade facilitation caused by ICUMS. 

But in a media engagement by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Friday, September 11, Mr Ohene, who doubles as the Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), addressing the issue described as palpable falsehood assertions that it takes five weeks for a single vehicle to be cleared through the new system.

According to him, it takes only a few hours for a vehicle to be cleared through ICUMS and not weeks.

READ ALSO:

• Businessman to pay 10 cows, 3 goats reparation to family, after confessing to killing their son [photos+video]

• ‘Beyi W’ano’: Adom 106.3 FM launches another result-focused product

BoEs processed

Speaking further, Mr Ohene intimated that over 193,000 Bill of Entries (BoE) from March to the end of August had so far been processed with 46.02 per cent of the BoE exited and 86.71 per cent Pre-Manifest Declaration made.

Revenue generated

With regards to revenue generation, ICUMS, Mr Ohene stated had raked in for the country some GH¢ 4.6 billion since its deployment in March through to August, 2020.

Benefits of ICUMS

Despite the initial challenges encountered with the deployment of ICUMS – challenges which have now been largely resolved – the ICUMS has provided all stakeholders involved in port activities with the following benefits:

•Single login with one user account.

•Single application to fulfil all licences, certificates, permits, requirements.

•Use of one system to track funds transfers through the banking system for purchase of goods in foreign and their subsequent declaration of value based on transferred money. This reduces the possibility of under valuation.

•Valuation, Classification and Declaration on a single report (Bill Of Entry); once you have nothing to petition on the report, you can go ahead to make payment at the bank, even before arrival of cargo. This reduces clearance cost and time, in line with the WCO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

•Simple queries used to correct minor errors such as typos on submitted BOEs (Bill Of Entry) to avoid unnecessary post entries.

•Declarant has the option to accept to pay a bill or reject to trigger an appeal process.

•Change in exchange rate will not result in post entries.

•Additional payment options..

GIFF says the committee involving reps from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), GUTA and CTN gave a report to President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo is not a correct reflection of the real issues.

READ: Four killed in Niifio car crash

Executive Secretary of GIFF, Eddy Akron believes the report handed over to President Akufo-Addo has been altered.

In February this year, government suspended implementation of CTN after initial resistance calling for further consultation on it.

GIFF and other bodies are doing everything legally possible against its implementation when one John Kwame Adu Jack filed a case in court seeking an injunction on Ghana Revenue Authority from implementing the new CTN systems.

READ: Bizarre: Marijuana found in Methodist Church (audio)

The plaintiff is asking the court to also declare that the policy is illegal, unconstitutional and in breach of the provisions of the trade facilitation agreement.

However, the GRA is going ahead to implement the policy.

GIFF Executive Secretary, Eddy Akrong maintains they are disappointed in GRA.

READ: We are all brothers in this competition – Mahama

Meanwhile, Chairman of GIFF, Alex Asiamah is calling on Special Prosecutor to invest those behind CTN as the country will lose huge sums of money.

According to them, the system which has been re-introduced by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) was not properly communicated to the stakeholders involved.

READ ALSO: Tension mounts at Moshie Zongo after man dies in police cells

A council member of GIFF, John Kwame Adu on Adom FM’s anti-corruption programme Fabewoso Monday said the system was being forced down the throat of shippers.

He said the business community is already overburdened and as such, the re-introduction of the CTN will obviously affect the cost of running their businesses.

READ ALSO: Tempane SHS head suspended over Akamba’s ‘campaign against Free SMr

Mr Adu reiterated their call to the government to postpone the implementation of the CTN and do extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders as there was a lot of falsehood in the available information about the stand-alone system.

READ ALSO: One Chinese arrested, six Ghanaians escape for illegal mining